Since EU-LIFE's creation in 2014, our member institutes have spun-out over 80 companies, contributing directly to the European innovation ecosystem. EU-LIFE works to make sure that the innovation cycle is strong by providing cutting-edge discoveries coupled to effective valorisation strategies, as well as helping member organisations to be more performant and efficient.
Policy work
- EU-LIFE contributed to the concept and implementation of the European Innovation Council (EIC), interacting regularly with EIC. Early on, EU-LIFE responded to the European Commission's call for ideas on the EIC in 2016. Afterwards, Jo Bury, member of the EU-LIFE Board of Directors and Managing Director of VIB, was appointed member of the EIC Pilot Advisory Board among 22 exceptional innovators in 2019, and he is still an EIC Ambassador. Interactions with EIC included:
- Towards FP10: EU-LIFE’s vision for the European Innovation Council (EIC) (Mar 2024)
- Reaction to the European Innovation Council Board’s statement on intellectual property (Jun 2023)
- Call for the European Commission to apply standard Intellectual Property Provisions in European Innovation Council (EIC) projects (Dec 2022)
- On the concept of an European Innovation Council (May 2016)
- EU-LIFE regularly puts forward recommendations and conveys its vision for the EU innovation ecosystem:
- EU-LIFE's 4 elements to strengthen Europe's competitiveness through the European Life Sciences Strategy (Apr 2025)
- The future of European research: 5 key actions for a competitive Europe (Oct 2024)
- EU-LIFE’s vision for the next European Programme FP9: The next Horizon - Strategies to promote European competitiveness in innovation (Jan 2017)
- EU-LIFE actively participates in the European Research Area (ERA) as stakeholder and is commited to ERA Action 7. Upgrade EU guidance for a better knowledge valorisation.
- EU-LIFE member institutes participated in the communities groups that helped create the European Commission's Guiding Principles for Knowledge Valorisation and Codes of Practice (2022).
- EU-LIFE responded to the European Innovation Act consultation on how to facilitate the establishment and growth of innovative companies in the European Union and enhance the diffusion of innovation across the EU Single Market (Oct 2025).
We also interact frequently with innovation leaders of the biotech sector. The EU-LIFE Strategy Meetings usually include exchange meetings with biotech, funding and innovation experts. In 2024, for instance, we hosted the 'Fundamental research for a global world' session with stakeholders of the Danish community.
Community
The Technology Transfer Working Group (TT WG) gathers tech transfer experts from our member institutes. The group was created to facilitate sharing good practices among these professionals and to provide scientists with knowledge and resources to help them bridge the gap between research and market.
The EU-LIFE Pitching Event is organised annually by the TT WG, with the aim to provide scientists leading translational projects in EU-LIFE research institutions with opportunities to talk confidentially to venture capitalists, receive feedback on their ideas, and gain insight about how to establish a new venture. Since 2021, it is organised virtually to facilitate participation and maximize exchange, with a total of 22 translational projects from EU-LIFE member institutes in 10 European countries pitched to over 60 venture capitalists and pharmaceutical company technology scouts on topics such as oncology, neurodegeneration, pulmonary diseases, agrobiotech and diagnostics. Based on data from the 2022 and 2023 pitching events, 3 companies have been founded and several other companies are under due diligence with venture capital investors.
EU-LIFE Pitching event was highlighted by the European Commission as a success story from the research management community © European Union, 2025
Publications
- Fundamental Research for European Competitiveness (Sep 2025)
- EU-LIFE's 4 elements to strengthen Europe's competitiveness through the European Life Sciences Strategy (Apr 2025)
- The future of European research: 5 key actions for a competitive Europe (Oct 2024)
- Open letter: EU-LIFE’s questions to Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner-designate for Startups, Research and Innovation (Oct 2024)
- Towards FP10: EU-LIFE’s vision for the European Innovation Council (EIC) (Mar 2024)
- Reaction to the European Innovation Council Board’s statement on intellectual property (Jun 2023)
- Call for the European Commission to apply standard Intellectual Property Provisions in European Innovation Council (EIC) projects (Dec 2022)
- How to ensure health safety in Europe? The vision of the EU-LIFE Research Institutes (Jun 2020)
- EU-LIFE’s vision for the next European Programme FP9: The next Horizon - Strategies to promote European competitiveness in innovation (Jan 2017)
- On the concept of an European Innovation Council (May 2016)
Other actions & outreach
- The Insider Podcast: Strategic Compass: Who's Rewriting the Rules of European Research and Innovation? (Feb 2025)
- Creating DxHub, the Center of Excellence to promote innovative solutions for the detection of infectious diseases: an interview with Electra Gizeli (Nov 2024)
- Groundbreaking science for a healthier future - 15 stories from EU-LIFE institutes (May 2023)
- EU-LIFE charter of independent life science research institutes (Mar 2023)
- Business at OECD roundtable on Leveraging private investment in health and life sciences (Jun 2022)
- Social media campaigns