Synthetic microbiology as a source of new enterprises and job creation: a Mediterranean perspective

摘要

The European biotech industry is proving to be robustagainst the challenges arising during the last years.Despite geopolitical complexity, regulatory uncertaintyand the growing potential of the Asian bio-based industry, European biotechs are still growing in number andrevenues, and even SMEs have been able to ‘stay inthe course' by developing new business models andkeeping R&D as a pillar of competitiveness. The UKand Germany host the most powerful hubs of biotechcompanies. In 2017, nearly 30% of all of Europe'sventure capital went to UK-based biotechs, whereas theGerman biotech hub led the league in terms of anumber of dedicated biotechnology firms, with morethan 500 SMEs (Biotechnology Report 2017). Roughly,half of the European biotech companies are settled inthese major hubs, with Switzerland and Sweden beingalso remarkable hotspots for the biotechnology-basedindustry.