Austria wants to be at the top of the podium in research and development
Austria has once again come a little closer to its goal of achieving the highest research and development rate (R&D rate) in the EU. Two thirds of R&D investments are made by industry, of which around 16% are made by foreign companies. Two current examples of investments in Austria from the life sciences sector are Novartis and Ligand Pharmaceuticals.
In 2023, the share of R&D expenditure in Austria’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) was 3.26%. This put Austria in third place in the EU after Belgium and Sweden. In 2024, the ratio will be 3.34% according to the estimate global by Statistics Austria, corresponding to a record sum of 16.64 billion euros.
The Federal Province of Tyrol has developed into an attractive location for life sciences. Novartis maintains development and production centres in Kundl and Schaftenau, which the company is expanding at a cost of 250 million euros each by 2025. Novartis has already invested more than two billion euros in Austria in the last ten years.
Since last year, Novartis has been focussing on innovative medicines, particularly biopharmaceuticals. The Analytics Lab was opened in Kundl in July 2024. The highly complex biotechnological production processes are to be analysed and improved here. The second part of the CC2 cell culture facility, the CC2Plus complex, was opened in Schaftenau in June. Monoclonal antibodies are produced, which are particularly used in the treatment of autoimmune or rheumatic diseases and cancer.
One of the largest exits of a private Austrian biotech company in recent years was announced in July 2024. The Californian biopharmaceutical company Ligand Pharmaceuticals acquired Apeiron Biologics, based in Vienna. Apeiron, centred around the Austrian geneticist Josef Penninger, developed, among other things, the drug Qarziba, which enables the treatment of high-risk neuroblastomas and was authorised on the European market in 2017. Apeiron’s operational R&D activities were spun off into invIOs GmbH at the beginning of 2022. With the acquisition of Apeiron, Ligand has committed to investing up to USD 4 million in invIOs, which will remain independent.
Research funding and location advise
R&D activities are promoted in Austria through various programmes: Companies can apply for direct funding for their project to the Austrian Research Promotion Agency. In addition, a research tax credit of 14% can be claimed. An “immigration allowance” is a further incentive for companies and research organisations from abroad.
Companies interested in the business and research location Austria and in funding programmes can obtain free advice from the Austrian Business Agency (ABA). The ABA will also have a stand at the Biotech Summit Austria from 10 to 11 October 2024 in Innsbruck and at the European Summit of Industrial Biotechnology from 11 to 14 November in Graz, one of the largest biotechnology conferences in Europe and a communication and networking platform for science, business and politics.
Contact:
Austrian Business Agency (ABA)
Phone: +43 1 588 58-0
E-mail: office@aba.gv.at
www.aba.gv.at
