“Biotech and life sciences are at the center of some of the most important challenges of our time, ranging from healthcare to environmental sustainability, and they will play a significant role in building a part of the economy of the future. These are issues that are crucial for the future of transatlantic relations as well: for this reason, as part of the Innovation Diplomacy launched by Deputy Prime Minister Tajani, we have decided to present here in the United States—for the first time outside of Italy—the interim report on the Working Table for the Internationalization of Industries in the Biotechnology Sector. There is great potential to increase investments between Italy and the United States in the field of biotechnology, and today’s meeting serves to facilitate contacts between the two sides of the Atlantic.”
Thus spoke the Ambassador of Italy to the United States, Mariangela Zappia, at a meeting in Washington with the U.S. National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology held today at the U.S. Senate, during which the interim report on the Working Table for the Internationalization of the Biotechnology Sector was presented. The results had been announced at the Italian Foreign Ministry on October 16th in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, and the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci.
The report was presented by the Director General for Country Promotion at the Foreign Ministry, Mauro Battocchi, along with Pierluigi Paracchi, a member of the Executive Committee of Federchimica Assobiotec, as well as CEO and founder of Genenta Science, the only Nasdaq-listed Italian company.
The report outlines a strategy aimed at improving the competitiveness of the Italian biotechnology sector through support for the internationalization of emerging biotechnology companies and assistance for their research and development activities. In particular, it focuses on the venture capital sector for biotechnology, proposing a refocusing of the Italian venture capital system, with greater support for strategic investments that promote the development and growth of biotechnology companies in Italy.
The meeting, the goal of which was to present Italy’s excellence in the biotechnology sector to potential American investors, was attended by a select group of major pharmaceutical and biotech companies, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as from the Technology Transfer Center of the NIH National Cancer Institute.
Andrea Illy also spoke, presenting the initiative that recently came to life and was introduced at the G7 Development Ministers’ meeting in Pescara, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tajani, for the creation of a fund for the sustainability and resilience of coffee. This is a voluntary public-private partnership aimed at helping small farmers in low-income countries increase productivity and wealth.
