Marc van Voorst tot Voorst: Europe cannot afford a capital shortfall in biotech and the life sciences
This column was originally written in Dutch. This is an English translation.
Europe boasts world-class scientific research. Yet we are not doing enough to translate that knowledge into successful start-ups, scale-ups and new treatments for patients.
By Marc van Voorst tot Voorst, Head of Public Affairs at Forbion
Whilst Europe once held a leading position in pharmaceutical development and clinical research, the United States and China are now pulling ahead. This is not only a problem for our healthcare system, but also for our future economic growth. It is no coincidence that former ASML CEO Peter Wennink cited life sciences as one of the four pillars of the Netherlands’ future earning potential.
The European Commission also recognises this urgency. With the EU Biotech Act I, it aims to make Europe more attractive for biotechnological innovation and production. The legislation is intended to simplify regulations – including those relating to clinical trials and advanced therapies – accelerate the application of digital technologies such as AI, and facilitate the upscaling of production. At the same time, the legislation includes safeguards for the responsible use of biotechnology. Crucially, the Commission is also explicitly committed to improving access to capital for start-ups and scale-ups. After all, without funding, scientific excellence remains confined to the laboratory.
Against this backdrop, earlier this year some of Europe’s largest venture capital funds in biotech and life sciences launched the European Life Sciences Coalition (ELSC). The coalition has a clear ambition: to increase the availability of capital for the sector so that European start-ups and scale-ups can find the capital they need for growth. The initiators welcome the European Commission’s ambitions but believe that implementation cannot happen quickly enough.
That is why the ELSC has opted for a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, the coalition is actively engaging with European policymakers who influence the availability of public capital, to emphasise the importance of venture capital for innovation and economic growth. On the other hand, it is organising national round-table discussions in which entrepreneurs, academics, policymakers, ecosystems and institutional investors – such as pension funds and insurers – work together to find solutions to strengthen the European funding environment. The first of these European round-table discussions took place last June at Forbion’s head office in Naarden.
In addition, the coalition makes another important recommendation: to work towards a strong European market. When innovative companies can sell their products more easily and on market-based terms in Europe, they can achieve sustainable growth here. This stimulates innovation, strengthens the European economy and increases Europe’s strategic autonomy. I also emphasised the importance of this in my previous column for Financial Investigator.
The debate on European competitiveness often centres on regulation, industrial policy and strategic autonomy. But ultimately, capital is the indispensable link between science and economic value. As long as European institutional investors allocate only limited funds to venture capital, promising biotech companies will remain dependent on foreign capital or eventually relocate to the United States. In doing so, we are exporting not only innovation, but also future economic growth, strategic knowledge and, consequently, prosperity.
