Biosciences, an opportunity in times of crisis... and beyond

In one of its latest reports, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says that the biotech economy is emerging as one of the best options for adding value to products and services, and as a result, for competing at global level.

In the last few months, other analysts have identified a series of common features in sectors with growth capability, including biosciences, that explain their competitiveness, such as large investment in R&D, the exceptional level of qualification of their human capital, and specialisation in high added-value niche markets.

Closer to home, a recent report by CONFEBASK, Basque Business Confederation, put the biosciences up there as one of the sectors that is resisting the crisis most effectively. The fact that this sector is in the position to survive and keep growing has been made possible precisely because of the speed and solidity with which it was created. The decided backing for R&D and innovation on one hand, and for biosciences on the other, has meant that in just seven years it has been possible to create a biocluster that is diversified, competitive in attractive niche markets at a global level and that has real muscle in the Basque economy, although still of modest size.

The economic boom years combined with a certain sense of urgency, and even momentousness, to speed up the growth of a new sector that contributes to maintaining the power of our industrial fabric. The most important aspect of biosciences are not only the numbers of companies (more than 70), the volume of turnover (more than 300 million) or the jobs created (more than 3,000 if direct and indirect employment are counted) but above all its connections with other, so-called traditional, sectors.

Biotech companies develop products, processes or services that are used by the healthcare system, pharmaceutical companies, the food industry and related services, the agricultural sector (cattle farming, forestry, veterinary services, etc.) the chemical, cosmetics, textile and energy industries, the environmental sector and many other areas. These products, processes or services allow sectors which generate nearly 25% of GDP in the Basque Country to maintain or even increase their competitiveness.

Not to mention the demand this places on suppliers, or the new opportunities for business that arise from the diversification already initiated in certain companies and industrial groups.

The Basque Country is therefore well placed to make this sector another of the driving forces behind its economy. Having said that, Rome was not built in a day nor a bioregion in a decade. To prove it, simply take a look at the sustained effort of countries like Britain, Sweden or, of course, the United States. Their constancy, planning, efficiency and effectiveness are the standards by which we should measure ourselves. And as Picasso said, "inspiration exists, but it has to find you working". We are working on it...