The BIO-RED project, funded under the EU’s I3-2023-Capacity Building Strand 2b, aims to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems in Europe, focusing on red biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. The project will run for 24 months, starting on 15 September 2025 and ending on 14 September 2027. Its key objectives include fostering interregional cooperation and boosting investment readiness in less-developed regions.
The project is coordinated by Comunidade Intermunicipal da Região de Coimbra in Portugal, with 10 additional partners from seven EU countries. These partners include Associação AccelBio, Biocant Park, and INOVA+ from Portugal; Medicen Paris Region from France; Hellenic Biotech Cluster from Greece; Danish Life Science Cluster from Denmark; LithuaniaBIO from Lithuania; Health and Life Sciences Cluster Bulgaria, Stiftelsen For Samverkan Mellan Universiteten I Uppsala from Sweden, and EIT Health InnoStars from Germany.
BIO-RED’s key objective is to create investment-ready business cases within the red biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, focusing on digital innovation and sustainable green technologies. The project will facilitate interregional collaboration, building regional capacities through activities such as thematic labs, staff exchanges, hackathons, and policy roundtables.
A central component of BIO-RED is the creation of a Biotech and Pharma Accelerator, which will provide essential support to help companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors develop investment-ready business cases. The accelerator will offer specialised mentorship, access to funding opportunities, and infrastructure support, aimed at transforming early-stage innovations into viable, market-ready solutions. This will significantly enhance the regions’ investment readiness and drive the growth of new biotech ventures across Europe.
Additionally, the project will foster interregional collaboration through initiatives such as thematic labs and staff exchanges, which will facilitate knowledge-sharing and the development of new solutions to sector-specific challenges. These collaborative efforts will create a sustainable ecosystem for innovation, supporting the long-term competitiveness of the regions involved in the project.
BIO-RED is a vital step in boosting the competitiveness of Europe’s biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, especially in less-developed regions, and will help strengthen the EU’s global position in these industries.
