Beyond the Lab: Making Europe's Biotech Ambition Real

At our Fraunhofer Breakfast Meeting, “Beyond the Lab: Making Europe’s Biotech Ambition Real,” policymakers, industry leaders, investors and research institutions discussed how to turn biotech excellence into resilient European capability.

Across agri-food, industrial biotechnology and fermentation, one message was clear: biotechnology is not a niche sector. It is a strategic asset for supply security, circular value chains, industrial resilience and European economic security.

To bridge the gap between laboratory breakthroughs and market impact, Europe needs to act on four priorities:

• accessible scale-up and pilot infrastructure
• private capital and effective public de-risking mechanisms
• transparent, timely and accountable regulatory pathways — without compromising safety
• stronger partnerships across research, industry, investors and policymakers

The full discussion and its key recommendations are captured in our impulse paper, now available.

A sincere thank you to our speakers — Andrea Büttner, Volker Sieber, Josi Buerger, Nicolas Krink and Anna Handschuh —, our moderators Susann Vierbauch and Katrin Mögele, and to all participants for contributing their expertise, perspectives and commitment to moving from diagnosis to delivery.

Europe has the science. The next step is to create the conditions for biotech to deliver lasting economic, societal and strategic value.

Take a look at the impulse paper