Europe has decided that biotechnology is strategic, and it is right to do so. But the gap is striking. Only 7% of global venture capital in health biotechnology flows to the EU. Over the past decade, US health biotech companies received €219 billion; European companies, €25 billion.¹ That is not only a competitiveness deficit. When Europe depends on production outside its borders for critical medicines, that is a strategic vulnerability. COVID-19 and today's global tensions have made that clear. The Biotech Act tackles this directly by steering public and private investment toward projects of European importance. Europe has the science, the industrial base, and now the policy framework to match.
The Act gives priority manufacturing projects faster permits, easier access to funding, and coordinated support across Member States. It reflects agreement across the Commission, Parliament, and Member States that making medicines and vaccines in Europe is a question of strategic autonomy.
To make the Act work, three things matter.
The Act rightly channels support towards projects that strengthen Europe's long-term industrial base
First, contract manufacturers must be clearly eligible. These are companies that produce medicines on behalf of others. The Commission's EU FAB programme shows exactly why they matter: it is a network of manufacturers across Europe, with always-ready facilities able to produce 325 million vaccine doses at short notice.² Contract manufacturers are not tied to one product or one company, so they can switch production fast, as many did during COVID-19. Without them, European innovation cannot reach industrial scale. The Act should treat them as strategic assets in their own right.
Second, One Health (the link between human and animal health) must be firmly included. Antimicrobial resistance kills over 35,000 people in the EU/EEA annually³, with resistant bacteria often building up in livestock before spreading to people. Vaccines are one of the most effective tools against this, reducing the need for antibiotics by preventing infections. However, public investment prioritizes new antibiotics, while vaccine development receives less focus. Europe should fund both — new antibiotics for infections we can't prevent, and vaccines to reduce overall antibiotic use.
Strategic autonomy in health is built facility by facility. The Biotech Act gives Europe the instrument
Third, the framework should recognise the strategic value of manufacturers working across both animal and human health. Europe's most pressing biological challenges — antimicrobial resistance, food security, emerging disease threats — do not respect the boundary between species. Supporting companies that produce biological products for both human and animal health strengthens European resilience by offering broader expertise, shared infrastructure, and the ability to address all types of biological risks.
A final consideration. The Act rightly channels support towards projects that strengthen Europe's long-term industrial base. It would be consistent with that logic to ensure recognition and support flow to companies genuinely committed to Europe, in governance, research, and long-term investment, not only in facilities. Companies that have built here over decades, and plan to build here for decades more, are particularly reliable anchors of the strategic autonomy the Act seeks to create.
Strategic autonomy in health is built facility by facility. The Biotech Act gives Europe the instrument. The task is to make strategic project recognition accessible, the European anchoring of those it supports genuine, and the commitment deep enough to match the ambition.
In partnership with
This article is a contribution from
Carles Fàbrega, General Manager Human Health, HIPRA
Marie-Hélène Fandel, Director of EU Public Affairs, HIPRA
List of references
-
European Commission, Proposal for the European Biotech Act, COM(2025) 1022 final, 16 December 2025.
-
European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), EU FAB Framework Contract, June 2023.
-
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Antimicrobial resistance in the EU/EEA (EARS-Net) — Annual Epidemiological Report 2023, Stockholm: ECDC, 2024.
Sign up to The Parliament's weekly newsletter
Every Friday our editorial team goes behind the headlines to offer insight and analysis on the key stories driving the EU agenda. Subscribe for free here.