Barriers Europe’s biotechnology sector needs to overcome to continue to grow

Although Europe’s biotechnology sector shows strong potential for scientific breakthroughs, researchers say it needs more support to turn discoveries into real-world applications

News analysis from the European Research Council (ERC) shows the growing strength and diversity of Europe’s frontier biotechnology research. The analysis covers areas such as synthetic biology, gene editing, artificial intelligence and engineered living materials.

Based on a survey of ERC-funded biotechnology researchers conducted in May 2026, the report identifies several challenges that could slow progress from early scientific discovery to commercial and practical applications.

Funding remains a key challenge

Researchers identified five major areas for improvement, including continued support for frontier biotechnology research, funding gaps between early-stage discoveries and ERC Proof of Concept grants, commercialisation and scale-up, stronger innovation ecosystems, and clearer governance and policy frameworks.

The findings also highlight the importance of supporting research without an immediate commercial purpose. Around 22% of biotechnology projects are still not anywhere near practical application, which shows how curiosity-driven research can generate knowledge and technologies whose uses may only become clear years later.

AI and gene editing among leading technologies

The researchers also identified the technologies they expect to have the biggest impact on biotechnology by 2030.

AI-enabled life-science data mining ranked first, with 85% of researchers highlighting it as a major area of impact. mRNA vaccines followed at 82%, omics technologies at 78%, tissue engineering at 77%, and CRISPR-Cas at 76%.

Other technologies expected to shape the sector include CAR-based therapies, engineered living materials, synthetic cells and pluripotent stem cells.

A growing European research base

Europe’s biotechnology research scale is reflected in ERC funding figures. Between 2014 and 2023, the ERC awarded €4.09 billion to 2,416 biotechnology projects across 28 countries. These projects represented 21% of all ERC-funded projects during the period.

The portfolio covers medical, industrial, agricultural, environmental and blue biotechnology, alongside emerging fields including synthetic biology, bio-based technologies, nanotechnology and environmental monitoring.

There are also signs that some discoveries are progressing beyond the laboratory. Biotechnology projects received 531 ERC Proof of Concept grants between 2014 and 2023, accounting for 30% of all such grants.

Meanwhile, 211 researchers have filed patents and 72 spin-off companies have been launched. A further 24 ERC-funded projects secured 25 European Innovation Council Transition grants.