Brussels, Belgium
April 20, 2007
Today will see the discussion at a Symposium in Brussels of a
recent report by the European Commission's in-house scientific
service, DG Joint Research Centre, which maps the applications
of biotechnology in Europe and their contribution to achieving
economic growth, environmental protection and the advancement of
public health. Reflecting some of the major goals of the
European Union, the study also touches on areas where
biotechnological applications have raised great interest for
European citizens, such as new medical treatments.
The Biotechnology for Europe
Study (Bio4EU) represents the first comprehensive compendium of
information on the status of biotechnology applications in
Europe and on its impacts and challenges. Originally requested
by the European Parliament, the report took two years to compile
and formed a key component of the mid-term review of the EU's
Strategy on Life Sciences and Biotechnology, presented on 4
April (see
IP/07/484 and
MEMO/07/130).The study focuses on the three main application
areas of modern biotechnology: medicine and healthcare; primary
production and agro-food; and industrial production processes,
energy and environment.
So far, data on the actual
availability and uptake of modern biotechnology products and
processes has been scarce for some sectors and geographical
areas. The Bio4EU study presents the most reliable information
to-date on the contribution that biotechnology is making to the
Union’s objectives.
Key findings
The study identified that the
production and use of modern biotechnology* supports the
generation of up to 1.69% of the EU economy (Gross Value Added),
a similar magnitude to the whole agriculture sector. The market
for biotechnological products has also experienced exponential
growth in the past ten years. Sales of biopharmaceuticals in the
EU, for example, have increased from EUR 1.75 billion to EUR
11.34 billion over this period.
In the industrial sector, for
example, the application of modern biotechnology contributes to
an increase in labour productivity by 10-20%. It also
significantly contributes to a reduction in energy and water use
and emissions of greenhouse gas (CO2), which in the production
of antibiotics can mean a reduction of up-to 75% compared to the
traditional chemical production process.
In the medicine and healthcare
area, the most prominent application sector, the study shows
that modern biotechnology provides effective, better or even
unique treatments and diagnostics.
In the primary production and
agro-food sector, the report evidences the wide variety of
biotechnology applications supporting production efficiency,
reduction of resource consumption and of emissions per unit
output or food safety.
Modern biotechnology is also
supporting the competitiveness of EU companies by increasing
their labour productivity, production efficiency and the
development of novel products. It contributes, for example, to
an improvement in job quality due to the high-level training
often associated with biotechnology products and processes.
Further information is available at
http://bio4eu.jrc.es.
Further information on the
activities of the Joint Research Centre can be found at:
http://www.jrc.ec.europa.eu
* Modern biotechnology dates
back to the early 1970s and includes the industrial use of
engineered DNA, cell fusion, tissue engineering, and in general,
the use of cellular, molecular and genetic processes in the
production of goods and services. |
