Number of biotechnology companies only decreased by 10%, despite the crisis, BioSpain meeting hears

The global biotechnology industry has been more resistant to the economic crisis than expected. This was one of the main conclusions of an international round table, titled Opportunities and Challenges of the Global Biomarkets, held as part of the Fifth International Meeting on Biotechnology, BioSpain 2010, organized by the Spanish Association of Biocompanies (ASEBIO) and the government of Navarre through SODENA, and held in the city of Pamplona last week.

During the meeting, experts from around the world talked about their experience of each of their geographic locations in the field of biotechnology. Among the most important issues discussed they highlighted two: the increasing selectiveness of investors and the cuts in R&D and innovation (R&D+i).

Highlighted at the event was the “modest decrease” of just 10% in the number of biotechnology companies worldwide, despite the economic crisis. This figure was not greater mainly thanks to the stimulus of the USA. During the round table it was made clear that “financing is the main problem faced by biotechnology today.” In fact, “a large part of the financing, particularly public financing, is normally destined to large companies, which makes it more difficult for the rest to take part,” said Siegfried Bialojan, head of the European Life Sciences Center at Ernst & Young and moderator of the round table. “We need to make the capital investment efficient,” he said.