MILAN (ITALPRESS) – Over 90 free appointments throughout Italy to learn about biotechnology and their applications in health, agriculture, industry and the environment. It is the national programme of the XIV edition of the European Biotech Week, the week dedicated to biotech in the calendar from 28 September to 5 October, with satellite initiatives also in the previous and subsequent weeks.
The event, coordinated and promoted in Italy by Assobiotec, the National Association for the Development of Biotechnology that is part of Federchimica, will involve universities, companies, research bodies, institutions and associations promoters of meetings, workshops, visits, seminars and other activities open to the public. A program that aims to introduce a sector based on numerous and diversified production chains as well as in many areas of everyday life.
According to the latest report “Biotech in Italy. Numbers, stories and trends” realized by Assobiotec- Federchimica in collaboration with the Digital Innovation Observers of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, in 2024 the biotech sector counted in Italy almost 6.000 enterprises, with 53,4 billion euros of turnover and more than 102.000 employees. Compared to 2023, the number of companies and turnover both grew by 5%, while the employees increased by 4%.
“The Biotech Week was born with the aim of making biotechnologies increasingly understandable and accessible, recounting the applications that already today find concrete relapses in our daily life and production processes, as well as the prospects for development for the future – explains Elena Sgaravatti, vice president of Assobiotec-Federchimica and coordinator of the Biotech Area for Bioeconomics -. Since 2013 Assobiotec has been coordinating and promoting the event at national level and, year after year, thanks to the participation of universities, companies, research agencies and numerous other partners who have chosen to organize an event in this week of scientific dissemination, has built an increasingly rich, wide and diversified program. A path that has consolidated the role of Italy as a European country with the greatest number of initiatives. We thank for this all the subjects who, with their commitment, have contributed to the realization of the program 2026 and the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies who also this year have granted their patronage to the event”.
In the framework of Biotech Week, Assobiotec will organize the event “Biosolutions: Driving Europès Agri-Food and Industrial Future and Competitiveness”, which will bring together representatives of the institutions, industry and the main actors of the national and European system to deepen the role of biosolutions in the future agro-food and industrial of the EU, the opportunities they offer and the conditions necessary to accelerate their development and adoption.
The meeting will also be an opportunity to present the Position Paper of Assobiotec “The Fourth Agro-Food Revolution”, which highlights the strategic role of biotechnologies and biosolutions in the construction of a more resilient, sustainable and competitive agri-food system and recalls the need for a European regulatory and industrial framework more favourable to innovation. In this path, the future Biotech Act II, the European Bioeconomy Strategy and the Omnibus Food & Feed package can represent strategic levers to accelerate the transfer of innovations from the laboratory to the market.
“The fourth agri-food revolution is already underway. Unlike the previous phases of agricultural development, based mainly on the expansion of cultivated areas or on the increase of productive inputs, this new revolution is based on biological knowledge and the ability to understand, value and optimize processes that regulate growth, prodand resilience of living organisms. Biotechnology and biosolutions today offer concrete tools to produce more with less resources, strengthen the resilience of the supply chains and accelerate the transition to a circular bioeconomy. However, in order to transform this potential into economic, environmental and social value, it is necessary to create an ecosystem that is favorable to innovation, capable of connecting science, enterprise and investment and adapting the regulatory framework to scientific developments – says Elena Sgaravatti. To bridge this gap is essential for Europe to strengthen its competitiveness, food security and leadership in the sustainable transformation of the agri-food system.”.
– in the photo provided by the press office Assobiotec Elena Sgaravatti, Vice President Assobiotec-Federchimica –
(ITALPRESS).
