AseBio brings the debate on the key elements of the Biotech Act to BIOSPAIN 2026 to boost the competitiveness of European biotechnology
Through two sessions organised by AseBio focusing on the Biotech Act I and II, we will analyse the measures needed to strengthen innovation, investment, biomanufacturing and biotechnology value chains in Europe.
BIOSPAIN 2026, one of Europe’s leading biotechnology events, will bring together companies, researchers, investors, institutions and other stakeholders from the Spanish and international biotechnology ecosystem at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC) from 29 September to 1 October. Organised by AseBio, in collaboration with the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, the Basque Government and the Basque Health Cluster (BHC), the event will once again place biotechnology at the heart of the debate on some of today’s major economic, healthcare, industrial and environmental challenges.
The BIOSPAIN 2026 programme is structured around four main tracks: Policy, Health, Bioeconomy and Finance, addressing from different perspectives the challenges and opportunities that will shape the future of the sector. Within the Policy track, the competitiveness of European biotechnology and the new framework being developed by the European Union will take centre stage.
In this context, AseBio will organise two sessions dedicated to analysing the Biotech Act I and II, a key initiative for the future of European biotechnology. Bringing together representatives from the Spanish and European administrations and industry, the discussions will explore what Europe needs to turn its scientific excellence into innovation, industrial capacity and competitive companies capable of growing within the continent.
Biotech Act I: incentivising innovation, strengthening capabilities and improving access to finance
The first session, “Europe’s Biotech Moment: What the Biotech Act Must Deliver”, will take place on 29 September, from 12:15 to 13:00, in the Margarita Salas room, and will focus on the Biotech Act I and the opportunities it offers to strengthen the competitiveness of biotechnology, particularly in the healthcare sector.
The discussion will address three key issues: how to create an environment that incentivises innovation in Europe, how to strengthen its industrial capabilities, and how to improve access to finance for biotechnology companies.
The session will be moderated by Laura Pellisé, Government Affairs Director at Amgen and delegate to AseBio’s Health Commission, and will feature Javier Padilla, Secretary of State for Health; Cristina Nadal, Executive Director of Policy at MSD Spain and President of AseBio; Thomas Van Cangh, Deputy Head of Unit at DG SANTE; and Raquel Yotti, Commissioner for the PERTE for Vanguard Health at the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
Biotech Act II: turning innovation into industrial capacity
The debate will continue on 30 September, from 9:30 to 10:15, also in the Margarita Salas room, with the session “Biotech Act: Accelerating Biotech Scale-Up and Building Competitive Value Chains in Europe”, focused on the future Biotech Act II.
While the first phase of the European legislative initiative focuses particularly on health, the Biotech Act II provides an opportunity to address biotechnology from a broader industrial perspective. The session will explore what Europe needs to scale up biotechnology innovation, boost biomanufacturing and build competitive value chains, as well as the regulatory, financial and industrial barriers that continue to hinder this process.
During the session, AseBio will present the main findings of its study on Spain’s industrial capabilities. These data will provide a starting point for discussing one of Europe’s major challenges: how to move from world-class research and technological capabilities to greater industrial investment and production capacity. The session will examine the need to develop complete value chains, facilitate financing for first-of-a-kind industrial plants, reduce barriers to scale-up and generate demand capable of supporting the market uptake of new biotechnology products.
Moderated by Ion Arocena, CEO of AseBio, the session will feature Miguel Gómez-Pavón López, from the Directorate-General for Industrial Strategy and SMEs at the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Tourism; Kristin Schreiber, Director for Chemicals, Bioeconomy and Retail at DG GROW, European Commission; and Ana Maria Bravo-Angel, Director of Public Affairs at IFF.
Through these two sessions, AseBio will bring to BIOSPAIN 2026 a crucial debate for the future of the sector: how to ensure that Europe not only generates world-class science and biotechnology innovation, but is also able to finance, scale up and manufacture that innovation, turning it into industrial growth, jobs and competitiveness.