The European Union (EU) has 27 Member States. The European Patent Organisation (EPO) has 31 Member States who are mostly also EU Member States.
The EU Joint Delegation at BIO2007 consists of the European Commission and the European Patent Office (EPO). It will be headed by Mr. John Bruton, former Irish Prime Minister and currently the European Union Ambassador to the USA. Mr. Bruton will speak in a special session and in the ‘EU Track’ on Sunday, May 6, 2007.
Through its participation in BIO2007, the EU Joint Delegation will present current developments in the EU that are highly relevant for the global biotech industry; policy, regulation, scientific cooperation and research funding. The EU Pavilion features the European Commission, including the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and the European Patent Office. Officials from these organizations are available at the EU Pavilion to answer your questions about doing research with Europe and doing business in Europe.
More information: www.ec.europa.eu/research/eu-bio2007
In 2007, the European Union celebrates its 50th birthday. In these 50 years, the EU has created the world's largest single market where goods, people, services and capital can move freely. The EU creates opportunities for the biotechnology industry by modernizing its regulation of bio-pharmaceuticals to create legal certainty for newly emerging products. Its research funding programs provide over US $ 1 billion annually to tackle challenges such global diseases and developing renewable energy resources. The EU already supports global, regional and national efforts in research and development to address the special needs of developing countries in the areas of health, including prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, emerging epidemics, agriculture, natural resources, environmental management, energy, and climate.
Presently, the European Union has 27 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The European Union is the largest investor in the US: European-owned firms invested over $ 20 billion in research and development in the US, while spending by U.S. firms in Europe amounted to $12.6 billion (figures: NSF, 2002).
The European dedicated biotechnology industry (2004 figures, EuropaBIO) has 2163 companies that employ 96,500 people in total, mostly in Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs generally less than 250 employees). The industry is highly research-intensive with 44% of employees (42,500) involved in research and development functions. European biotech companies spent in total €7.6bn in R&D in 2004. The share of the European Union in biotechnology patents filed at the EPO in 2002 was 34.5%, compared to 39.9% for the USA.
More information: www.europa.eu
The European Commission is largely responsible for managing the EU's common policies, i.e. research, regional policy, development aid, etc. It also manages the budget for these policies.
The Commission has developed a Strategy for the European Union on Life Sciences and Biotechnology with policy measures and a 30-point action plan. For instance, in the Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7, 2007-2013) the EU has earmarked some €10 billion (~$12 billion) for research in life sciences. Researchers from almost every country (27 EU Member States, plus associated countries like e.g. Switzerland, Israel and Turkey, as well as countries with science and technology (S&T) cooperation agreements, like e.g. the US, Canada) are welcome to participate in collaborative research projects with Europeans.
More information:
- http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm
- http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm
The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) is an executive agency of the European Union. It contributes to the protection of public and animal health by ensuring that medicines for human and veterinary medicines are safe, effective and of high quality.
Bringing together the scientific resources of the EU and EEA-EFTA Member States in a network of more than 40 national competent authorities, the EMEA coordinates the evaluation and supervision of medicines throughout the EU. The Agency cooperates closely with the European Commission's Enterprise Directorate General and international partners, reinforcing the EU contribution to global harmonization.
More information: www.emea.eu.int
The mission of the European Patent Office (EPO) is to support innovation, competitiveness and economic growth in Europe. Its task is to grant European patents for inventions on the basis of a centralized procedure for the contracting states to the European Patent Convention (EPC), which is in force since 1977. The EPO is the executive arm of the European Patent Organization, an intergovernmental body set up under the EPC, whose members are the EPC contracting states. The activities of the Office are supervised by the Organization’s Administrative Council, which is composed of the delegates from the contracting states.
The EPO has its headquarters in Munich, a branch at The Hague and offices in Berlin and Vienna. With its workforce of nearly 6 500 staff, the EPO is one of the largest European institutions. The EPC states currently are all EU member states plus Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco and Turkey. European patent applications and patents can also be extended at the applicant’s request to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Latvia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro. European patents cover a geographical area of more than 540 million inhabitants.
More information: www.epo.org
Contact
European Commission, DG for Research
CDMA 02/173
B-1049, Brussels, Belgium
Phone: +(32) 2 2962965
Fax: +(32) 2 2995888
Web site: http://europa.eu
Contact (name & title): Stephane Hogan, Head of Unit, Health Research