Contant of the page - Back to top
Focus on Biotech
Italy’s Biotech is a dynamic sector composed of 375 companies (2011) investing in Research and Development Biotech Sector. Among these, 221 are the so called “pure biotech” (59% of total amount).
Biotech industry in Italy
| Total | PureBiotech | |
|---|---|---|
| Companies | 1,6% | 2,7% |
| Biotech turnover | 2,7% | 12.1% |
| R&D Investments | 3% | 10 |
| Employees | 0,8% | 2,5% |
(source: E&Y 2010 versus 2011)
An overall turnover of € 23,3 billion, namely about € 7.4 billion euro, is generated from the biotech segment and approximately € 1.76 billion in R&D biotechnological investments.
Italian biotech companies spring as start-up (53%) and as academical spin-off (24%) .
Throughout the Country, over 40,000 employees, operate in the sector (approximately 9,000 in R&D), with a +36% year-on-year increase (Source: Blossom Report 2009).
The analysis of the companies’ geographical location shows how 75% is concentrated in 6 regions: Lombardy (129), Piedmont (37), Tuscany (30), Veneto (31), Lazio (30), and Emilia Romagna (26) alongside the main Italian scientific parks. On a territorial level, the biggest concentration is in the Milan area, which hosts 26% of the Italian companies which belong to this category.
Over the last few years (2005-2009) six Italian Biotech companies were listed on the stock exchange of foreign markets – i.e. Gentium, NicOx, BioXell, Newron Pharmaceuticals, Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, and Molmed (Source: Assobiotech 2009).
Over 2010, the Biotechnology sector recoded strong signals of consolidation and growth by innovative companies operating in the field. Data confirm the sector development and a large number of new companies investing in the field of life sciences, environmental and agro-food sciences (Source: www.biotechinitaly.com).
The sector is undergoing evident transformation placing great emphasis on innovative offshoots connected with biotechnological developments in the healthcare field.
R&D spending is on the rise as well as the number of new biotechnology ventures, mainly as spin-offs of academic work and foreign companies.
The process – supported by research centres with proven track record of excellence in Healthcare Research and ever stronger ties between the academic and business world – has already given life to several Biotechnology segments, some specialised in Diagnostics and Therapeutic Trials. Recent applications – notably in Biomedical, Bioinformatics, Biomechanics, and Nanobiotechnology sectors– are strongly appealing investors’ interest. The opportunities offered by Clinical Trials, mainly carried out by foreign companies, are likewise encouraging, featuring cutting edge set-ups in the development of a wide range of therapeutic areas (i.e. Oncology, Neurosciences, Cardiology, and Vascular Diseases, and Immunology).