In a post-petroleum society, biorefineries – along with the farmers and foresters who source raw materials – are at the heart of the economy. No matter how you define it, the concept remains the same: converting raw materials into useful products for society. Instead of fossil fuels, the biobased economy employs renewable resources and wastes to produce a series of products useful to society: biofuels, bioenergy, biochemicals, bioplastics and other biomaterials.
Another step towards increasing patient access to orphan drugs?
OpinionAs part of the outcomes of the European Commissions Process on Corporate Responsibility in the Field of Pharmaceuticals from 17 April 2013, Member States formally endorsed recommendations on a potential coordinated and collaborative approach to address access to orphan medicinal products: the Mechanism of Coordinated Access to Orphan Medicinal Products (MOCA).
Genetic testing: should consumers have the right to decide?
OpinionEuropes consumers have an often turbulent relatioship with science. Advice from scientists that clashes with lifestyle preferences finds governments reluctant to appear as over–zealous legislators, especially if it makes them unpopular with either groups of voters or the large companies that are often associated with the particular bit of lifestyle under threat.
Dirk Carrez: The BRIDGE to a biobased economy in the EU
OpinionIn a post-petroleum society, biorefineries – along with the farmers and foresters who source raw materials – are at the heart of the economy. No matter how you define it, the concept remains the same: converting raw materials into useful products for society. Instead of fossil fuels, the biobased economy employs renewable resources and wastes to produce a series of products useful to society: biofuels, bioenergy, biochemicals, bioplastics and other biomaterials.
BIO: the synthesis of brilliance
OpinionBrussels Greetings readers! The observant of you will note that I have strayed far from Brussels in my quest for knowledge I was lucky enough to attend the BIO convention in Chicago in late April, and where better to listen out for sage advice? So what did I hear?
Jesus Rueda Rodriguez: Time is of the essence for the father of healthcare
OpinionThe proposal for an in vitro diagnostics (IVD) regulation currently under discussion in the European Parliament and Council of the European Union will chart the future of the regulatory system for IVDs in Europe.
The Innovation Scoreboard – plotting a pathway to the future
OpinionMarch saw the publication of the latest innovation scoreboard. More stats! I hear you groan, but this is important reading for researchers, businesses and governments in biotech. It tells you where the innovation leaders and followers are, as well as informing you about changes in performance over time.
Hagen Pfundner: Personalised healthcare has to reach the patient
OpinionThe use of diagnostic testing is at the centre of Personalised Healthcare (PHC), not only for classifying a disease but also for determining which therapy will be most suitable for an individual patient or a stratified group of patients suffering from that disease. It is all about improving outcomes and tolerability.
A promising transition to Horizon 2020 for SMEs
OpinionThe end of the FP7 process has been a busy one, with a rush to grab the last EC funds before we all get thirsty in the break between FP7 and the launch of Horizon 2020 in 2014.
Derrick Williams: Fostering collaboration and R&D quality
OpinionIn an era when Member States are doing their utmost to limit national exposure in the EU budget, making the right choices has become more crucial than ever before to shaping Europes future.
Patents dancing in the spring
OpinionAll the hard work I invested in 2012 to rescue the Eurozone with biotechnology has reaped a new reward in 2013, as the European Parliament and Council finally approved the European patent in December.