Europe’s competitiveness: learnings from the healthcare sector

Focusing on innovation would substantially benefit the European economy, including its consumers, workers and industries. Two decades ago, Europe was at the forefront of technological and scientific innovation. Today, however, it finds itself in a new competitiveness crisis, with a slower pace and less productivity than its global peers.

The environment for innovation is where we can find one of the root causes of this crisis. In his recent report, Enrico Letta highlights how innovation should become the fifth freedom of this single market, allowing knowledge diffusion to benefit the European Union from an economic, social and cultural point of view. Letta stressed how much there is to gain by fostering its implementation in the healthcare sector.

The healthcare sector in Europe has faced unprecedented challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic. On a global level, Europe has now been surpassed by China as one of the leading hubs for innovation and is well below the level of the United States. Indeed, the US spends $25bn more than Europe on research and development of new medicines. Clinical trial activity for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) is twice as high in the US and almost three times as high in China than in Europe.

An effective innovation environment in Europe will play an essential role in European competitiveness. The former Italian Prime Minister and President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi recently highlighted that European firms spend only half of what US firms spend on research and innovation, which creates an annual investment gap of €270bn.

To close this gap, the European Union will need to craft a comprehensive industrial strategy that targets increased productivity and preserves the competitiveness of critical European industries. Europe can become a global leader in life sciences by consolidating decision-making, investing in science and crafting coherent policies that stay true to the core objectives of the Union and its citizens.

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