Consequently the proposals in the Draghi report authored by former ECB president and former Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi, published in September 2024 addressing European competitiveness and the future of the European Union, have been the focus of attention all over Europe and beyond. Pharma and life science is a key component, and historically Europe was in the lead. Over the last few decades though, Europe has steadily been losing ground to the US and China and a competitiveness gap has gradually emerged. 

Over the last few decades though, Europe has steadily been losing ground to the US and China and a competitiveness gap has gradually emerged. 

For instance, within the key segment of biological medicines only two of the top ten best-selling biological medicines in Europe in 2022 were developed and marketed by EU companies, while six (including the top four) were developed and marketed by US-based companies. A clear drop in the market share held by EU companies is noted, whereas market share held by US companies increased, as the report stated. Of the top ten best-selling products with market exclusivity as an orphan medicine in the EU/EEA in 2022, exactly none were developed and marketed by EU-based companies.

On the positive side, the EU still has a strong presence in trade, a strong manufacturing base and scientific know-how in the on-patent space. The report also emphasizes that concerning research, the EU remains on par with the US in terms of the number of scientific papers published. Among the root causes identified are less and fragmented public R&D investment in the EU,  less private R&D investment in the EU and a weaker supporting environment and a slow and complex regulatory medicines framework in the EU.

Fortunately, the report proposes a long and comprehensive list of initiatives to address this gap, and a lot of them are likely to be included in the European Commission’s  proposal for a truly European life science strategy. For Denmark and Sweden, two of the leading life science nations in Europe with a significant, strategic interest in a more competitive EU, this is high politics. It is likely then that the upcoming Danish presidency of the Council of the EU, which will take over from Poland 1 July, will make this a top priority.

For some reason Greater Copenhagen is included, although Greater Copenhagen is not a European cluster in its own right.

Key stakeholders in both countries are already anticipating this and with new national life science strategies in both countries, the discussion is ongoing with an explicit European dimension. The Confederation of Danish Industry recently proposed that the strategy should include massive investment in the existing European biotech, medtech and healthtech clusters, which are the beacons of life science innovation. As chairman of Medicon Valley Alliance representing what is one of the top three life science clusters in the EU, I couldn’t agree more. Medicon Valley is the leading manufacturing hub in the EU, our pipeline is also in the top three and no other region has more private life science employees than Danish-Swedish Medicon Valley. If the aim is to boost European life science competitiveness, Medicon Valley is an excellent place to start.

The Confederation of Danish Industry correctly identifies Stockholm-Uppsala, Leiden-Amsterdam, Paris and Heidelberg as some of the other European clusters of relevance. For some reason Greater Copenhagen is included, although Greater Copenhagen is not a European cluster in its own right. It is an integral part of the Danish-Swedish Medicon Valley cluster, which should be a well-established fact after 28 years of intense and quite successful cluster collaboration with the universities, companies and hospitals in the Swedish Skåne region.

To be able to compete globally, we must concentrate our efforts in Europe and build on existing strongholds and clusters of excellence.

But the point is still valid. To be able to compete globally, we must concentrate our efforts in Europe and build on existing strongholds and clusters of excellence. The Draghi report and the national Danish and Swedish life science strategies, combined with an explicit cluster focus, is a promising point of departure. Now we just need to take the first steps of the journey. With a European Gold label in cluster excellence and 28 years of experience with cluster collaboration, Medicon Valley Alliance is ready to chip in!

about the author

Niels Abel Bonde is the Chairman of Medicon Valley Alliance (MVA). He is a recurring columnist in NLS magazine. This column was originally published in NLS No 01 2025, out February 2025.