European Leaders Addressed Biotech Financing Gap
Policymakers and industry stakeholders met to stem the tide of EU biotechnology companies listing on foreign exchanges.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Biotech
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Industry leaders and MEPs gathered at the European Parliament on September 30, 2026, to address a chronic shortfall in late-stage capital. The meeting sought to reverse a trend where nearly all EU biotechnology firms seeking public listings choose exchanges outside the region.
Why it matters
The event aimed to implement Mario Draghi's competitiveness agenda by closing an annual financing gap of up to €18 billion for IP-backed growth. Bridging this gap is viewed as essential to retaining life sciences companies within the EU ecosystem.
The European Commission estimates an annual IP-backed growth financing gap of €18 billion, while BioPharmaChem Ireland identified a €1.1 billion equity shortfall for its domestic scaling firms. Analysis from Dansk Biotek suggests that realigning pension fund venture allocations could unlock €15 billion.
The players
Regina Doherty
An MEP who hosted the Draghi Needs Friends event at the European Parliament.
EuropaBio
The European association for bioindustries that advocates for policies to support biotech research and market competitiveness.
BioPharmaChem Ireland
An industry representative group for Ireland's pharmaceutical and chemical sectors that tracks domestic scaling capital gaps.
The details
The meeting reviewed four policy initiatives: EU Inc., the European Innovation Act, the Biotech Act, and the Savings and Investments Union. These frameworks are intended to standardize capital availability and encourage institutional investment to prevent domestic firms from seeking liquidity abroad. Participants, including founders and investors, discussed structural reforms necessary to modernize how European markets support high-growth technology companies.
Timeline
Between 2020 and 2026, 66 of 67 EU biotech companies went public on non-EU exchanges.
The meeting at the European Parliament occurred on September 30, 2026.
The Tech Race
The summit marks a direct effort to align the European biotechnology sector with the structural reforms proposed in Mario Draghi's competitiveness agenda. It follows years of capital flight and precedes the anticipated finalization of the Savings and Investments Union.
European life sciences firms are currently constrained by limited domestic access to the billions in growth capital required for late-stage development. Changes to the Savings and Investments Union may eventually alter how European institutional investors and pension funds allocate capital toward innovation.
The takeaway
European policymakers are under pressure to reform capital markets to stop domestic firms from migrating to foreign stock exchanges. Watch for upcoming legislative sessions concerning the Savings and Investments Union for signs of concrete policy implementation.
Further reading
Explore deeper analysis on the capital markets and research trends in the Biotech section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Europabio - Europabio.
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Should governments enact policies to keep high-growth companies listed and operating within the country?
