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Biotechnology in Europe - Statistics & Facts

In general, biotechnology is the use of biological systems and living organisms to make or modify products or processes for specific purposes. Agriculture, food production, and medicine are the most important areas of application of biotechnology, along with interdisciplinary fields such as genomics, applied immunology, and the development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests. Biotech in medicine lately came into focus due to the discovery and development of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, like those by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna.

A sector on the rise

This sector is of increasing importance among leading European companies, generating tens of billions of U.S. dollars in revenue and nearly 100 thousand jobs. Over the last few years, the biotechnology sector became one of the most innovative industries in the European Union, with almost 7,300 patent applications filed at the EPO in 2019. However, because of the extremely high research and development costs, many European biotechnology companies must partner with larger firms to complete the development of their products and patents.

Companies and clusters

Together with the United States, Europe is the major global region for biotechnology. Among the leading biotech companies with headquarters in Europe are Swiss pharma giants Roche and Novartis, although these companies are not focused only on biotech-derived, but also on classic chemical-pharmaceutical products. Further European companies are well-known names like AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi. There are also smaller, more biotech-focused companies like Danish Genmab and Novozymes, or Belgian UCB. In the meantime, the London metro area represents the major biotech cluster on the continent, followed by the metro areas of Zürich, Paris, and Berlin.

Not undisputed

The use of biotechnology in agriculture, food production and medicine is also a widely discussed topic due to its effects on the environment and human health. Some of the most pressing ethical issues regarding this industry are, for example, the use of humans in clinical trials, genetically modified crops, genetic engineering, animal testing, bioterrorism and stem cell research.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Jan 10, 2024

Key insights

Venture capital financing in European and U.S. biotech industry in 2022
18.9bn USD
Top global company by biotech revenue in 2022
Pfizer
Country with the highest number of biotech patents in 2020
Germany
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies from Europe based on market capitalization in 2023 (in million U.S. dollars)

Industry & Market

Leading European pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies by market cap 2023

Leading European biotechnology IPOs in 2022 (in million U.S. dollars)

Biotechnology

Value of top European biotech IPOs in 2022

Leading European biotechnology companies by venture financing in 2022 (in million U.S. dollars)

Biotechnology

Leading European biotechnology companies by venture financing 2022

Further recommended statistics

Overview

4

Overview

Research and Development

4

Research and Development

Financing and M&As

7

Financing and M&As

Patents

4

Patents

Countries

5

Countries

Further reports

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Top pharmaceutical drugs
Top pharmaceutical drugs
Medical biotech industry
Medical biotech industry
Biotechnology in Germany
Biotechnology in Germany
Biotechnology in Spain
Biotechnology in Spain
Pharma and biotech M&A activity
Pharma and biotech M&A activity
Small and medium-sized biotech companies
Small and medium-sized biotech companies

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