Commission calls for decisive action on life sciences and biotechnology
Urgent action is needed to reverse the downward trend in investment in biotechnology and the life sciences in Europe. This was the central conclusion of the European Commission's first progress report on the Action Plan for European life sciences, published on 5 March. The report, which assesses progress in areas such as research, innovation and intellectual property, warns that the existence of diverging Member State policies in these areas could lead to a failure to meet the Lisbon objectives on competitiveness. Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society, Erkki Liikanen, said: 'Practically the entire European biotechnology industry is facing difficulties due to the collapse in investor confidence in knowledge-based industries. [...] Concerted action, involving public authorities as well as the private sector, is needed to improve the investment climate for biotechnology in Europe.' The 30 point Action Plan was adopted in January 2002 as part of the Commission's wider 'strategy for Europe on life sciences and biotechnology'. This progress report notes that while advances have been made in a number of areas, others are suffering from serious delays. 'Decisive action and concrete commitment are now urgent,' says the report. On the issue of research, the report welcomes the timely adoption of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), and the 2.225 billion euro earmarked for life sciences, genomics and biotechnology projects. However, it stresses that private investment in the field, which alone totalled 7.5 billion euro last year, has a far higher impact on total research spending, and that if the downward trend in private funding continues, research in the field will inevitably suffer. According to the report, one way in which the negative trend in private investment could be addressed is through the better protection of intellectual property rights. In order to foster competitiveness and innovation, the Commission urges Member States to swiftly transpose the Directive on biotech inventions into national law, and quickly adopt the proposal for a Community Patent. The document also argues that the new regulatory frameworks for the traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and GM food and feed will address public concerns and should further public acceptance of GMO use. Therefore, measures should be taken to address the decline of Europe's GMO field research. As Philippe Busquin, Commissioner for Research, explained: '[...] between 1998 and 2001, the number of notifications for GMO field trials in the EU declined by 76 per cent. Now that legitimate consumer and environmental concerns have been tackled by strict EU legislation, it is time to reverse this downward trend. If we do not react, we will be dependent on technology developed elsewhere in the world within the next ten years.'