Crossing ‘valley of death’ is key for KBBE

The secretary general of the European Biotechnology Network, Dr Claire Skentelbery, has stated her hopes there will be a greater focus on ‘end results’ for the continent’s Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) under Horizon 2020.

Giving her thoughts on the EU’s forth-coming research and innovation framework programme, Skentelbery said she expected many of the FP7 KBBE projects to continue under Horizon 2020 and that there would be a greater focus on getting potential new products to market.

“I would like to see is a greater focus on the delivery through to end use,” Skentelbery said. “When you look at the health, for instance, it has moved much more strongly towards companies actually delivering technologies rather than early stage technological development. KBBE needs to do that as well – it needs to force the market open and it seems that currently KBBE-related projects within Horizon 2020 are still going to be dominated by universities, and that there is not going to be enough translation into end products.”

Skentelbery added that universities are likely to remain the focus for funders, although she expressed her hopes that SMEs will receive extra focus and finance under the framework programme.

“The KBBE is very sector specific and it can be difficult to break out of your own sector. Small companies are not really seen as the innovation leaders in the KBBE, as the focus has remained on the big universities and research institutes, but, in fact, it is the small companies that should be encouraged and financially supported in order to get more products out there.”

Bioetechnology and the wider bioeconomy will receive funding under the Industrial Leadership and Societal Challenges pillars of Horizon 2020. It’s hoped the development of the SME instrument will encourage greater participation in Horizon 2020 by small businesses.