France Biotech meets BIO Deutschland in Berlin

BIO Deutschland representatives met in the German capital with Frédéric Girard, vice-president in charge of European relations at the French sister association France Biotech. Chloé Evans, responsible for international relations at the Paris office, was present via video link. For almost 25 years, France Biotech has been representing the interests of companies in biotechnology, medical technology, and other sectors of the healthcare industry. At the meeting, the two associations discussed common issues as well as existing and potential collaboration between the organisations. BIO Deutschland has, for instance, been a partner of the HighTech Innovation Days (HTID) in Paris since 2020 (https://htfc-eu.com/htid/). The Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) or “Projet Important d'Intérêt Européen Commun” (PIIEC), initiated during the French presidency of the EU, was also discussed. The IPCEI aims, first, to equip Europe with a strong, innovative, and export-friendly healthcare industry that is able to meet the challenges posed by the future of medical care and, second, to share a strategic vision for developing lasting and innovative European manufacturing capabilities with regards to critical products, notably pharmaceuticals. France, along with 15 other EU member states, announced in March the signing of a manifesto for an IPCEI on Health. The projects will focus on three strategic areas: (i) developing innovative and greener technologies and production processes for manufacturing medicines; (ii) innovating with regard to strategic challenges such as fighting antibiotic resistance and developing treatments for rare diseases, and in conjunction with the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), responding to future pandemics; and (iii) developing gene and cell therapies. BIO Deutschland is advocating to ensure that Germany becomes involved in the planned IPCEI. The current signatory countries of the IPCEI on Health are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain. France has secured financing of €1.5 billion for projects in this context.

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