The opening premise of discussions at this National Interest roundtable event was that an examination of industrial trends over the course of the deep and protracted crisis that has hit Italian manufacturing highlights the importance of the life sciences sector. Figures were cited in support of this assertion showing that, in Italy, the pharmaceutical and medtech industries have increased their contribution to the economy in terms of value added (up from 5% to 6% of manufacturing industry from 2008 to 2013) and even more so in terms of exports (up from 5% to 7%).
It was suggested that, on a global scale, the sector’s growth is attributable to stable demand, the greater average size of its firms, their more pronounced international market presence, and their ability to innovate, with the crisis period witnessing a rise in the number of innovative new drugs launched. On a national scale, contributing factors were seen as including the ability to increase exports by tapping into growing shares of world demand, as well as a capacity to attract foreign investment at levels unrivaled by other industries. Despite the sector being increasingly integrated into the global economy, much of its value added is still created and retained within national borders, with a strong multiplier effect on the economy, research and health.
The availability of skilled human capital – particularly science graduates – at a cost that remains relatively low, together with the high productivity discernible from the performance figures for firms in the sector, were considered competitive advantages that have unquestionably enabled Italy to take on a key role as a production base for the European market.
It was further noted that, on the one hand, Italy’s research system boasts levels of scientific output in the pharmaceutical, biomedical and biological fields that are comparable with those of the leading countries in the world, with a growing proportional share of publications in the most cited scientific journals. On the other hand, it also suffers from below average patent production rates, as well as persistent difficulties in transferring technology (to industry) and in adopting innovations in the medical and pharmaceutical fields, due mainly to fragmentation of the regulatory framework between the state and regions.
An analysis of the development of research networks and clusters also revealed a tendency towards progressive marginalization of local Italian scientific and technological research systems owing to a high level of fragmentation in the national innovation system, in addition to difficulties in making the public and private research spheres interact with each other, as against the growing attractiveness of the foremost global and European research centers, where integration between different areas of research, development and application is encouraged.
The participants stressed that it is the convergence of formerly-deemed disparate scientific and technological trajectories which gives rise to successful business ventures that interconnect disciplines such as biomedicine, pharmaceutics, biotechnology, and information technology. It was suggested that Italian firms may have opportunities for breaking into these areas, with excellent results even for those operating on a small scale, provided that action is taken to promote risk capital and market access for hi-tech startups. In contrast, the public research system was characterized as laboring under greater difficulties, with a seeming inability to implement innovative organizational models that would facilitate the establishment of multidisciplinary laboratories and bring educational syllabuses up to speed to take account of – and, where possible, enable a leading role in shaping – cutting-edge advances in scientific and technological research.
In conclusion, it was emphasized that in order to increase the country’s competitiveness, it is essential to strengthen national regulatory bodies, equipping them with adequate resources and personnel to streamline authorization processes, thereby improving procedures and avoiding duplication and the fragmentation of powers across various levels of jurisdiction.