Biomedical engineering: a key to Europe’s future

Biomedical engineering combines biology and medicine with engineering and artificial intelligence – for example, in precision diagnostics, regenerative medicine and the next generation of medical devices. Basic research in these fields in EU Member States is among the best in the world. Yet Europe is increasingly falling behind when it comes to translating scientific discoveries into market-ready products and technologies. Many of these products are now sourced from the United States, China or Switzerland. This is creating a growing strategic dependency that affects not only the EU’s competitiveness but also its healthcare systems.

In a commentary published in Nature, leading international experts outline how Europe can close this gap. At the invitation of EMBO and the Helmholtz Biomedical Engineering Initiative, they have developed a set of concrete recommendations. Their central call is for a coordinated European Biomedical Engineering Agenda that systematically translates Europe’s scientific strength into innovation, patents and new healthcare companies. 

According to the authors, Europe has both excellent research and a strong industrial base. What it lacks is the right structures and sufficient bioengineering expertise to bring these strengths together and translate research more consistently into new products and companies.

In biomedical engineering in particular, new technologies emerge through the interplay of different disciplines – for example, by combining knowledge and applications from health and climate research, materials science and engineering, or aerospace. This kind of integration requires experts and institutions that not only bring different scientific approaches together but also focus them on developing applicable technologies from the outset.

The authors therefore see a key lever in establishing biomedical engineering more firmly as an independent academic discipline. Dedicated faculties and professorships, internationally competitive degree programmes and attractive career paths are needed to build the necessary expertise and sustain it in the long term. Tailored funding programmes and review panels with recognized bioengineering expertise would also help ensure more targeted support for interdisciplinary and application-oriented research.

To bring scientific discoveries into practical use more quickly, closer collaboration with hospitals and industry is needed from an early stage, along with support for product development and validation, and targeted funding for spin-offs. In addition, entrepreneurial skills should become an integral part of education and training. Bioengineering hubs should be created where leading universities, hospitals, companies, investors and entrepreneurs are already concentrated, turning Europe’s regional strengths into societal and economic impact.

The experts’ message is clear: the European Commission, the European Council, national governments, leading universities, research institutes, scientific organizations, research funders and industry must act together – and they must act now.

“Biomedical engineering offers enormous opportunities for Germany and Europe – for better healthcare as well as for economic growth and technological sovereignty,” says Helmholtz President Martin Keller. “What matters is that we work across disciplinary and institutional boundaries and translate scientific discoveries into innovation more quickly. This is how research benefits people and creates new economic value.”

"Excellent research is the foundation on which innovation is built," says EMBO Director Fiona Watt. "By connecting outstanding scientists across disciplines, career stages and borders, organizations such as EMBO can create the conditions that support the growth of biomedical engineering in Europe.”

About the Helmholtz Biomedical Engineering Initiative

The Helmholtz Biomedical Engineering Initiative brings together research institutions, universities, hospitals and industry to strengthen collaboration across disciplines, institutions and sectors. Its goal is to accelerate the translation of new health technologies from scientific discovery into practical applications. 

About EMBO

EMBO is an organization of more than 2,200 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences in Europe and beyond. EMBO supports talented researchers at all stages of their careers, stimulates the exchange of scientific knowledge and helps build a research environment where scientists can achieve their best work.