European Biotechnology Magazine Winter 2021

Berlin, 2 December 2021 – Who is to blame for inequality during the pandemic? Should the developers of novel medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics for COVID-19 forgo the protection of their intellectual property and allow the most economically sacred assets – precise manufacturing processes for platform technologies with wide-ranging future applications – to be exposed to potential imitators? While the pandemic continues to rage, over 100 countries have supported the temporary suspension of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 therapeutics to ensure better access to medicines. But does this step truly lead to more vaccines and new treatments?

Other topics in this issue:

New Breeding Techniques: NGOs manipulate EU consultation

Biotechnological pathways to net-zero emissions: The COP26 agreements alone will not achieve much. To meet emission targets, biotechnology is essential, and the sector is pursuing numerous innovative pathways to reach net-zero. A broad range of products can now be produced using captured atmospheric CO2, and investors have shown growing enthusiasm for green technologies.

AMR – a new wave of hope: This autumn, the long-awaited PASTEUR Act was finally introduced in the US Senate as part of the Cures 2.0 legislation. This step is seen as a key measure to revive the antibiotics ecosystem. The industry now hopes that Germany’s G7 presidency will create further incentives across Europe and beyond. Meanwhile, a new public-private partnership has been launched to develop AMR vaccines, and phage therapy has received a financial boost.

Gene and cell therapy – when will the technological breakthrough come? Since the US approval of the first AAV-based in vivo gene therapy Luxturna and the lentiviral ex vivo CAR-T cell therapy Kymriah four and five years ago respectively, the number of clinical trials and market expectations has soared.

Interview: Joachim Rothe, Managing Partner at LSP

Country Report: Ireland after Brexit