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Research

Life sciences, focusing on resources and synergies for the growth of the sector

Tuscany

11 November 2024

Biotech e non solo, il settore delle scienze della vita è strategico per la Toscana

3' min read

Some in Tuscany call it a district, others a supply chain or ecosystem: it is the varied world of the life sciences, which includes companies in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical devices, nutraceutics, cosmeceutics, but also research and service centres, universities and spinoffs, incubators, and ICT applied to health.

This is a strategic sector for the regional economy, in which about 300 companies - including the giants Menarini, Eli Lilly, Gsk, and Kedrion - with at least 20 thousand employees, operate, and which generates about ten billion in turnover (in 2023, drug exports alone reached 8.4 billion, +41%, absorbing 15% of Tuscany's foreign sales). It is a sector that has accelerated its march in the last ten years, but which could do even better, according to research just carried out by Confindustria's Digital Innovation Hub Toscana and the University of Florence. "It is a dynamic and innovative ecosystem of great value, but still falling short of its potential," says the study, which analysed the sector's strengths and weaknesses to understand where action could be taken to increase strength and competitiveness.

'Weaknesses have increased compared to the pre-Covid period,' says Silvia Ramondetta, coordinator of the Tuscan Digital Innovation Hub, 'and among these the most evident is the low number of start-ups and innovative SMEs in Tuscany. But let us not forget that there are also important strengths,' she adds, 'such as the relationships and exchanges established between organisations, operators, and players working for the development of life sciences.

Tuscan start-ups active in the life sciences industry and research number 25 (out of 565 total), while innovative SMEs number 16 (out of 160). On the university spinoff front (53 of those surveyed), the biomedical segment is defending itself better (24 in all, the highest number among Italian regions), perhaps because it needs less funding and has a shorter time to market, emphasises the pro-rector of technology transfer at the University of Florence, Marco Pierini.

Indeed, funding, in a sector such as life sciences that needs substantial resources, risks being a major obstacle to the birth of start-ups. But they cannot justify these results: "Tuscany has a number of start-ups and innovative SMEs that is lower than its potential," say researchers Sara Pucci, Jasna Pocek and Gianluca Fiorindi, "especially if we look at the quality of the ecosystem and the region's entrepreneurial spirit, which is widespread. The only justification for the 'meagre' numbers could be linked to the fact that the study does not take into account start-ups active in software and IT consultancy that have the life sciences as their target market, limiting itself to industrial and research start-ups.

While waiting to examine this and other aspects in more depth ("the role of large companies needs to be better understood"), the research puts forward some policy proposals. The keys on which to push to make the sector grow look to both private and public players: 'We need to strengthen the relationships between structured companies and start-ups,' it is stated, 'and between the production and research worlds, and strengthen the action of innovation intermediaries. Among the proposed actions are increased funding for research and development and enhanced access to international markets. "It is a consolation that in the last two-three years," explains Lorenzo Zanni, professor of Economics and Business Management at the University of Siena, the 'cradle' city of life sciences, "patent activity has increased: only if you have patents can you make good start-ups and good spinoffs.

Siena's tradition in the life sciences, linked to Achille Sclavo who began producing vaccines in the early 1900s, has so far been carried on by, among others, the public-private Toscana Life Sciences (Tls) Foundation, which is now going through a delicate phase: after the flop of research on the anti-Covid drug based on monoclonal antibodies developed in 2020, and the failure to take off the Biotecnopolo di Siena promoted and financed by the previous government, Tls risked closure. It has been saved in recent months by the Monte dei Paschi Foundation, which granted it a building in usufruct free of charge, helping to replenish its assets.