Cofund on Biotechnologies

Biotechnology in Europe is covered by the European bioeconomy strategy was published in 2018. The update aims to speed up the progression towards a European bioeconomy that will contribute to the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.

The updated bioeconomy strategy proposes a three-tiered action plan:

1. Strengthen and scale up the bio-based sectors, unlock investments and markets
2. Deploy local bioeconomies rapidly across the whole of Europe
3. Understand the ecological boundaries of the bioeconomy

The update of the bioeconomy strategy also takes in to account the new European policy priorities, in particular from the renewed Industrial Policy Strategy, the Circular Economy Action plan and the Communication on Accelerating Clean Energy Innovation. These policies all highlight the importance of a sustainable, circular bioeconomy.

The European bioeconomy strategy has led to an increase in dedicated R&I funding and investments EU member states. The strategy is implemented through Horizon 2020 (H2020) between 2014 and 2020, and is vital in supporting research, development and technology in the European Research Area (ERA) in order to bring new ideas from the lab to the market.

In addition, the European bioeconomy strategy resulted in a number of national and regional bioeconomy strategies and recommendations across Europe.

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

Strategic priorities:

• A sustainable, innovative, and resource-efficient bio-economy, including transition to bioresources - using raw materials, products and waste more sustainably by saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions:
• Replacing fossil fuels with renewable biomass fuels (environmentally-friendly alternatives to oil shale products)
• Biowaste circulation (e.g. biogas production)
• Biocompatible and biodegradable products (e.g. bio-based plastics)
• Biotechnology in medicine (drug development, molecular diagnostics)
• Bioinformatics and big data management

Relevant documents:

• The general national RDI strategy 2014-2020 “Knowledge-based Estonia” mentions information and communication technology, health technologies and services (incl. biotechnology), and more effective use of resources as the three smart specialisation areas for Estonia
• Estonian Research Infrastructures Roadmap 2019
• For bioeconomy, a specific strategy is not planned in Estonia, but there are several strategic documents underway (to be approved in 2019 and 2020) wherein the field will be reflected (Agricultural and Fisheries Development Plan 2030, the Circular Economy Strategy)
• The Estonian strategy for research, development and innovation in the health system 2015-2020 tackles innovation in the medical field

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

The French strategic priorities in terms of research are described in the document “Stratégie nationale de recherché France Europe 2020”.

This document focuses on 42 orientations and two of them are in the area of non-health biotechnology:
Orientation 4: Eco and biotechnologies to support the ecological transition
Orientation 21: From production to diversified uses of biomass

and

National strategy for bioeconomy

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

The National Policy Strategy on Bioeconomy was published in 2013 and set a milestone for a bio-based and sustainable economy. It was prepared with the aim providing a coherent framework for the transformation of a mainly fossil-based economy to a bioeconomy.

In addition, the “National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030” seeks to foster research and innovation across diverse areas of a bioeconomy. Its intervention areas address the topics of food security, sustainable increase of agricultural production, safe and healthy food products, industrial utilisation of biomass, and conversion of biomass to biofuels and bioenergy. It was developed under lead management of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in cooperation with six additional ministries.

Presently, a new bioeconomy strategy is being developed under joint leadership of BMBF and BMEL. Its release is planned in 2019.

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure

The research and development community within academia and industry is very broad in Germany. The following list is a quick overview of the national available infrastructure and by no means comprehensive.

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

Within the Biotech sector, promoting health is a major strategic priority in Israel. Applied research and Translational research - from bench to bedside, utilizing biological systems to develop novel technologies that will improve human health.
The field of medical devices is one of wide-spread activity with approximately 570 Israeli companies. A further field evolving in Israel in recent years, and one in which Israel possesses valuable assets that can be leveraged, is that of digital health. These include firstly Israel's technological leadership in the field of data processing and secondly, the information, unique in its scope, stored in Israeli medical files. Government action such as the national program for digital medicine and the Mosaic Initiative seek, among others, to enable Israeli industry and academia to maximize the advantages these assets have to offer.

Industrial landscape: Israel is looking to boost its biotech industry. Two units under the country’s Ministry of Economy have partnered to provide grants to companies looking to make the transition between research and development to manufacturing, mostly in the life sciences domain. The two are the Israel Innovation Authority, which is the government's tech investment arm, and the ministry’s investment center, which is the body in charge of developing the country’s periphery and creating jobs.
According to the Israeli Innovation Authority data, around 1,450 life sciences companies currently operate in Israel, most of them founded within the last decade.

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

The Norwegian National Strategy for Biotechnology overlaps with the scientific areas of ERA CoBioTech. It identifies four priority areas where biotechnology can be beneficial in improving the area:

• Aquaculture, seafood and marine resource management
• Agriculture based food and biomass production
• Environment friendly industrial processes and products
• Health, health care services and health-related business activities

Over the next years, RCN would like to address research on important tools within biotechnology, e.g. enzymes, microorganisms, microbial systems, SynBio, SysBio, research involving converging technologies, underpinned by Responsible Research and Innovation. This national strategic effort has been named Digital Life Norway.
Relevant documents can be found here at RCN's website

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

There are no specific biotechnology strategies, plans or policies in Poland. Relevant Polish research strategies are described in different documents, including:

• The National Research Programme (NRP), which describes the overall Polish government’s research strategy (available only in polish)
• BIOSTRATEG: Natural environment, agriculture and forestry – strategic research and development programme (available only in polish)
• The National Smart Specialisations (NSS), which covers the topics of a healthy society, agrifood, forestry-timber and environmental bioeconomy, sustainable energy, natural resources and waste management, and innovative technologies and industrial processes.

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

The Biotechnology areas with the greatest impact in Portugal are pharmaceutical and industrial. Pharmaceutical Biotechnology is mainly linked to the development and sale of biopharmaceuticals, recombinant vaccines and diagnostic methods, which account for 10 billion Euros in sales in the EU, making up 0.25% of gross added value.

Industrial Biotechnology includes Biotechnology applications to different industries, such as textiles (e.g. textile finishing), pulp and paper, food (processing of dairy products, sugar and producing ingredients), plastics, chemicals and biofuels (essentially bio-ethanol).

More at: http://p-bio.org/en/national-environment/

The newly developed FCT strategic R&I agendas are now available for the 14 selected thematic areas identified for Portugal where Biotechnology is a transversal topic included in:
 “Agri-food, Forestry and Biodiversity”, “Ocean”, “Industry and manufacturing”, “sustainable energy systems”, Health, clinical and transnational research” and “Circular economy” – see more at:
https://www.fct.pt/agendastematicas/index.phtml.en

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

environment & resources, raw materials, new & advanced materials, health/pharmaceuticals, sustainable chemistry, industrial biotechnology, sustainable processing

Strategy “Biotechnology/Life Science Offensive”, Innovation Strategy of the Free State of Saxony (RIS 3- Strategy), Saxon Research and Networking Programme within European Activities for Research and Innovation

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

• Excellent science, research, development and innovation
• Intersectional and Transnational cooperation
• Developing of biotechnologies for sustainable transformation and new bio-based materials.

Relevant documents:

Slovenia does not have a strategy especially for biotechnology.

The field of biotechnology is partly included in:

• Resolution on Research and Innovation Strategy of Slovenia 2011-2020,
• Slovenian Strategy for Strengthening the European Research Area 2016–2020
• Slovenian Smart Specialisation Strategy – S4,
• Research Infrastructure Roadmap 2011 - 2020 (revision 2016)

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

Spain has The SPANISH STRATEGY ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION Plan. This plan consider biotechnology as a strategic area (see Strengths in Figure 13 SWOT analysis of the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation System, page 14). Furthermore, biotechnology is included into the ESSENTIAL ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES that have to be promoted because advances in area of biotechnology lay the foundations for future competitive advantages in a broad range of businesses and sectors, due mainly, to the horizontal nature of their applications (see page 23). SPANISH STRATEGY guide the RDI activities, including fundamental scientific and technical research, technological

development and innovation towards the EIGHT GREAT CHALLENGES where biotechnology is included as horizontal area in 1. Health, demographic change and wellbeing, 2. Food safety and quality; productive and sustainable activity; stainability of natural resources, marine and maritime research and indirectly in 3. Safe, sustainable and clean energy and 5. Action on climate change and efficiency in the use of resources and raw materials.

https://services.icono.fecyt.es/informesypublicaciones/Documents/Spanish_Strategy_Science_Technology.pdf

CDTI is the Spanish agency that funds business projects for the creation and significant improvement of a production process, product or service. These projects may comprise both industrial research activities as well as experimental development, in accordance with the definitions of the General Block Exemption Regulation (EC Regulation nº651/2014). It means that our focus is in companies so we are interested in activities focused in industrial sector, mainly SMEs. CDTI has funded many projects in biotechnology area during last years that you can consult from

https://www.cdti.es/index.asp?MP=15&MS=601&MN=3&IDR=0 if you select TECNOLOGÍAS DE LA ALIMENTACIÓN, BIOTECNOLOGÍA Y SALUD into subject matter button. 

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

 There are no strategic documents regarding the biotechnology sector.

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

• Pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical products, biomaterials, biomedical technologies and diagnostics
• Agricultural molecular breeding

Science and Technology roadmaps are the reference documents

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

The national strategic priorities within the bioeconomy are set out in the

• The Clean Growth Strategy (November 2017)
• Building our Industrial Strategy (January 2017)
• Growing the Bioeconomy (2018)

These documents have been published by BEIS (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy)

Additionally, UKRI and UKRI-BBSRC have also published strategic documents which include the biotechnology sector.

• UKRI Strategy (UKRI, 2018) 
• UKRI-BBSRC Forward Look for UK Bioscience (BBSRC, 2018)

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure

1. Strategic Priorities & documents

• Sustainable and circular agro-food systems
• Food Quality and Safety
• Bio-therapy

Strategy documents:

• Preliminary report for the update of the smart strategy in health in Wallonia (March 2019)
• Preliminary report for the update of the smart strategy in bioeconomy in Wallonia (March 2019)

2. Funders of biotechnology research, development and innovation

3. Relevant national infrastructure