Nordic Life Science 1
“Europe needs to improve its entire ecosystem – f
rom basic research all the way to market access. 27 individual Member States' markets require coherence, including for things like support for new biotechs, research funding, clinical trials, and market-access policies.” NATHALIE MOLL “For Europe to compete, it needs to increase investment and spending on new healthcare and medicines,” Moll says. “It should also begin to eradicate government clawbacks which rarely exist outside of the EU, and which prevent inward investment. Importantly, Member States need to ensure that citizens get equal and fast access to new medicines. These policies are critical to encouraging companies to carry out research in the EU rather than elsewhere.” Druck describes the same reality from the ground level, where biotech SMEs struggle to secure the capital needed to survive long clinical development cycles. He notes that large pharmaceutical companies can reinvest revenue from marketed products, but smaller companies operate without steady revenue and burn cash continuously. They depend heavily on external financing, and face a funding landscape that has become markedly more constrained in recent years. Nathalie Moll, Director General, EFPIA Druck describes the dilemma bluntly: “We need to remain a dynamic platform for innovation, because that will attract major investors – and we need larger investment capacities in Europe. Why do the biotech companies fly over the ocean to go to the US to scale up? It’s because they're looking for a hundred million euros, and they cannot find that here.” In terms of venture-capital investments in health biotech, the EU’s 7% share of global investments lags behind the 63% for the US and 17% for China. The financial climate is clearly evidenced by the fact that 66 of 67 biotechnology firms opted to list on non-EU stock exchanges between 2019 and 2025, according to the European Commission. Playing to European strengths Yet neither Moll nor Druck sees Europe as doomed to decline. Both argue that the region has the assets to lead – if it acts decisively. Moll calls for increased spending, faster patient access, and coherent market-access policies. Druck points to the European Biotech Act as a potential turning point, which was proposed by the European Commission in 2025. It offers a regulatory framework aimed at increasing European competitiveness, streamlining regulation in areas such as clinical trials and cell and gene therapy, and keeping Europe at the forefront of innovation. “There is a different approach that we can adapt to in the coming years. We can change the mindset a bit. I think that the European Biotech Act opens up for another way of doing things so we can accelerate some processes and simplify the way we run businesses in the biopharma industry, and to decomplicate regulations,” Druck says. Ultimately, he captures the moment with a mix of urgency and optimism: “In Europe, different countries have their assets and strengths, which might make all the difference today to stay in the lead at a European level. We've built up a critical mass of players and have such a large ecosystem of companies.” “We have that power today and that's strong. Now national policies as well as European strategies must anchor the innovation here in Europe, because we will face some critical moments and we have to take the chance to make good decisions for the future of the industry,” he says. NLS 56 | NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG EUROPE // STRATEGY PHOTO PHILIPPE VELDEMAN