BioTechEU aims to close Europe’s biotech funding gap

The EU and EIB have launched BioTechEU to address funding gaps and scale health innovation across Europe.

BioTechEU seeks to mobilise €10bn to strengthen Europe's biotechnology and life sciences ecosystem over the next two years.

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group have launched BioTechEU, a new initiative to mobilise €10 billion in investment for biotechnology and life sciences between 2026 and 2027.

The programme targets Europe’s biotech funding gap, seeking to strengthen global competitiveness by channelling public and private capital into health innovation, including gene therapies, mRNA treatments, personalised medicine and AI-enabled medical technologies.

BioTechEU will operate under the EIB Group’s TechEU framework and draw on instruments such as the InvestEU guarantee. The initiative aligns with broader EU efforts to retain strategic health innovation within Europe and reduce reliance on external markets.

European Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi said under-investment continues to constrain biotech startups, adding that the European Commission sees BioTechEU as a way to help promising treatments scale and reach patients more efficiently across the EU.

EIB President Nadia Calviño said Europe has strong scientific talent and ideas, but deeper capital markets are needed. She described BioTechEU as a catalyst for enabling EU-based biotech companies to grow and compete globally.

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