Healthy competition: Can Europe regain its global edge in life sciences?

Since the publication of Ursula von der Leyen’s political guidelines in July 2024, increasing European competitiveness has become something of a mantra in Brussels and other EU capitols – as well as a rare example of an EU policy goal that every member-state could agree on. The unprecedented chaos created by the new US administration has only heightened the urgency to find effective ways forward – not least because, amid the uncertainty, Europe and others perceive opportunities to erode America’s historical leadership in critical technology domains and to enhance their own capabilities and positioning.

In parallel, what seems certain is that the life sciences sector will become one of the most hotly-contested “battlegrounds” in the years ahead. As the largest net contributor to the EU’s trade balance, it is squarely in the crosshairs of President Trump’s tariff-based agenda – yet it consistently attracts the deepest pools of global R&D expenditure and talent, is leagues ahead of all other sectors bar software in terms of venture capital investments, and is a proven testing ground for other high-growth technologies such as AI and advanced materials. In this context, life sciences could prove to be a key litmus test of the EU’s ability to achieve its wider competitiveness goals. If it can indeed regain ground lost to the US and China since the millennium, then the prospects for replicating that success in other sectors will look considerably brighter.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of hurdles to overcome – from the complexity of frameworks surrounding regulation, policy making and market pricing, to the fragmentation of cutting-edge research ecosystems, data resources and IP management. The European Commission is pledging a host of new acts, strategies and initiatives under its mandate – whether in critical, orphan and paediatric medicines, health crisis preparedness, or administrative burden reduction – but these may take many months to see the light of day. And in parallel, the revision of Europe’s general pharmaceutical legislation has now entered its third year, with no immediate end in sight to the process.

For stakeholders across the life sciences sector, therefore, actions will matter more than words if Europe is to regain its position as the world’s most attractive destination for research, commercialisation and manufacturing. Against this backdrop, a number of strategic questions arise: where should EU and national policy makers focus first to achieve the greatest long-term impact? Does the competitiveness agenda imply a rethink of funding public-private R&D partnerships or developing world-class R&I clusters? How to ensure better coordination between life sciences policies and programmes, as well as synergies with other domains such as biotech and digital health? What will it take to reverse the flow of brilliant scientists and innovators to other parts of the world? And in light of Washington’s withdrawal from global health research collaboration, should Europe embrace a new model of life science diplomacy to fill the void?

On October 16, Science|Business will convene members of its international Network, EU institutions and other leaders from the worlds of research, industry and governments to discuss these issues and more in a high-level public event.