MEP Aura Salla, together with 25 parliamentary colleagues, sent a petition letter to European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen on January 30, 2025. In the letter, the MEPs presented their petition to the Commission regarding the upcoming European Biotech Act and its scope. The aim of the Biotech Act is to streamline the regulatory framework concerning the sector to ensure faster approvals and access to market.
MEP Salla believes that the Biotech Act should be broad in scope, extending to sectors such as agriculture and marine biotechnologies. In its current form, Commissioner Várhelyi’s mission letter suggests that the Act would focus solely on the pharmaceutical sector.
In addition to the pharmaceutical sector, several other sectors leveraging biotechnology have the same main challenge: innovative products do not transfer to the market due to a lack of a coherent EU regulatory framework. To strengthen the competitiveness of European industry and facilitate a clean transition, it is essential that the products and services of biotechnology companies, particularly innovative start-ups and SMEs, reach the market without delays.
At this critical stage for European competitiveness, the Commission must abide by its own timeline concerning the proposal of the Biotech Act. The Commission should particularly ensure that a comprehensive range of biotechnology applications is included in the scope of the Act, so that the full potential of biotechnologies and solutions can be utilized across all relevant sectors.
