Research and Innovation are key to shaping the circular bioeconomy of tomorrow. Biotechnologies and Biomanufacturing can be major drivers of this process, and leveraging these technologies will present a vital step in promoting the transition.
GASB welcomes the communication “Building the future with nature: Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU”, published by the European Commission on March 20th, 2024.
The communication presents a clear commitment towards enabling these technologies to facilitate and advance a bio-based circular economy, facilitating a more sustainable and resilient future for Europe.
Biotech applications hold great potential in enhancing healthcare, designing secure and sustainable food systems and industry, and tackling overarching societal and environmental challenges. It is important to integrate biotechnologies and biomanufacturing into the wider picture and acknowledge their significance for the bioeconomy, specifically in the new EU Bioeconomy Strategy, and to continuously engage with relevant stakeholders and experts to shape a progressive landscape for innovation.
The published communication clearly identifies several key challenges in the process, such as research and technology transfer to the market and limited access to finance, regulatory complexity and inefficiency, as well as issues of intellectual property rights, economic security and resilience, and public acceptance. The portrayed way forward involves leveraging research and innovation, particularly technology transfer in terms of capacities and infrastructure. A clear and coherent regulatory framework to streamline approval and authorisation procedures and enable fast access to a homogenous market can significantly boost the transfer of technologies into application. Facilitating standards and the development of cooperation and collaborations across industries can contribute to a holistic approach of ensuring environment and people across Europe and sectors can benefit equitably from the transition.
At GASB, we are committed to explore and facilitate the full potential of synthetic biology as a key discipline of the 21st century. We thus welcome the mission of leveraging research and innovation in modern biotechnologies and urge the European Commission and relevant partners to follow through with the described objectives, and look forward to contributing to the process of promoting the European Bioeconomy for a more sustainable future for environment, economy and society.