Biotech as a critical economic asset for Europe: WifOR Institute study updated for EuropaBio
- Nina Pulkkis
- Mar 20
- 2 min read
19/03/2025
PRESS RELEASE
Brussels, 19 March 2025
EuropaBio has published an updated WifOR Institute report ‘’Measuring the Economic Footprint of the Biotechnology Industry in the European Union” demonstrating the continued economic growth and strength of biotechnology. The WifOR Institute report now spans 2008-2022, with the latest Eurostat data measuring outputs from key biotechnology products.
Gross value added (GVA) from biotechnology hit €38.1 billion in 2022, almost doubling from 2008. Whilst healthcare biotechnology remains the dominant contributor, reflecting the maturity of the sector, industrial biotechnology is the fastest growing sub-sector in terms of GVA, with a growth rate of 5.3% - over twice that of the EU total economy.
Overall, biotechnology is one of the most economically productive industries, generating €160,000 GVA per person employed in 2022, 2.85 times higher than the total EU economy and higher than sectors including finance, ICT and automotive.
Biotechnology product exports also deliver significant global trade strength for the EU, with a surplus of €51.7 billion in 2022, a sevenfold increase since 2008. The economic value of healthcare biotechnology exports rose significantly in 2021 and 2022, indicative of the EU’s vital manufacturing role during the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst exports across all biotechnology sectors have grown every year since 2008.
Dr. Claire Skentelbery, DG of EuropaBio commented “Once again, biotechnology demonstrates its significance to the EU’s economic growth and future industrial model. The current mandate is right to focus on how we maximise the impact of biotechnology, including through vehicles such as the EU Biotech Act, and we need to incentivise, enable and amplify it through ALL relevant initiatives and legislations.’’