EuropaBio Newsletter 27

EuropaBio's Weekly Newsletter

European Biotech Week: Put your events on the map!
The third edition of the European Biotech Week will take place from 12 to 18 October 2015. National Biotech Associations, in collaboration with companies, academic and government institutions, science museums and the media, will organise a series of events across Europe. Save the date for activities already planned and get involved now!

Europe and soya beans: a complex relationship
Did you know that soya beans used to be cultivated extremely successfully in Romania in the form of GMO soya before its accession to the EU in 2007, to the point that the EU was importing soya from Romania? Since accession however Romanian farmers are denied the choice of growing GMO soya and the EU relies on imports of soya beans from Argentina, Brazil and the USA. We import almost 34 million tonnes of this crop each year – the combined weight of all EU citizens! Read more on TradeTalk blog.

EMA launches two public consultations on medicines for unmet medical needs

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has revised its guidelines on the implementation of accelerated assessment and conditional marketing authorisation for medicines that address unmet medical needs. It is now asking for comments on both documents, expected until 30 September. Read more

Swedish scientists develop a high-starch low-methane-emission rice

As the world’s second most important grain crop, rice is also one of the largest sources of methane emissions. Aiming at reducing the greenhouse effect and offering more food to the world, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences has engineered a rice capable of producing a strong yield in an ecologically friendlier manner. Read more

New PHA production plant to be built in France

Bio-On has signed a partnership agreement with Cristal Union to build a new PHA plant in France. The planned facility will produce some five thousand tons of biodegradable bioplastic from sugar beet co-products per year and is set to be the most advanced biopolymer production site in the world. Read more

Key dates to keep in mind

October 12-18: European Biotech Week
October 27-29: European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and the Bioeconomy (Brussels, Belgium)