The European Parliament’s Environment, Climate and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) has delivered the first parliamentary opinion on the European Commission’s proposed Biotech Act.
The ENVI Committee position is an early indication of the political battles ahead over the proposed extension of intellectual property incentives for a small number of biotech innovations in the health sector.
While ENVI is not one of the lead committees on the file, responsibility rests primarily with Parliament’s Public Health Committee (SANT) and Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE), the opinion adopted under rapporteur Nicolás Casares (S&D, Spain) provides an important signal of the position emerging within the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group on one of the most contested elements of the proposal: the 12-month extension to Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs).
The Commission’s Biotech Act seeks to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness in biotechnology and life sciences through a package of measures designed to encourage investment, accelerate innovation and improve the translation of scientific breakthroughs into commercial products. One of its most debated provisions is Article 27, which would grant a limited extension of SPCs for certain frontier biotechnology products.
ENVI has now proposed removing Article 27 altogether.
In his report, González Casares argues that the proposed extension lacks sufficient economic justification….
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