EU Life Sciences Strategy from the Shared Understanding Lens

Continuing my article series where I explore strategies aimed at strengthening Europe’s position, I’ve been looking into Choose Europe for life sciences. A strategy to position the EU as the world’s most attractive place for life sciences by 2030. It is an ambitious document, with a clear objective to position Europe as the world’s leading life sciences hub by 2030.

The reason I spend time on these strategies, firstly, is to understand what they mean for companies, initiatives, and professionals working in this sector. Secondly, what that means for Europe’s connectedness, especially when it comes to collaboration across systems and countries. At the same time, this connects directly to my work over the past year within life sciences at international scale, where I identify ways in which, through shared understanding and stakeholder engagement, companies that do important work can grow and become part of Europe’s unified story.

When I read this strategy through the lens of shared understanding, I look for the gaps between ambition and action. The strategy sets out bold goals, offering a clear and compelling vision for Europe’s life sciences. My focus is on the points where clarity and alignment can help turn those goals into real-world impact. Shared understanding can be the piece of the puzzle that connects and helps everyone see what success looks like, why it matters, and how it relates across sectors and borders. When that piece is in place, the strategy moves from vision to action. 

The status quo

If we look at the life sciences sector in Europe, which employs millions of people, produces knowledge, brings enormous value, and interacts with many systems at once, we see that on multiple levels it already exists with scale and presence. The report itself gives us the numbers to confirm it, such as, in 2022, it employed 29 million people, representing 13.6 percent of total EU employment. It generated 1.5 trillion EUR in value added, accounting for 9.4 percent of EU GDP. Europe continues to rank among the strongest globally in scientific publications and holds second place in biotech patenting with an 18 percent share.

What does this tell us?

It tells us that this is not a question of capability. Europe can generate knowledge and solutions. The institutions are there. The talent is there. The research is strong. And early-stage discoveries keep coming.

And yet—and this is the question I keep returning to—at what point does something that works in a research setting stop moving forward with the same clarity? When does it encounter friction,  or complexity that slows it down, that makes it difficult to translate into solutions, products, or services that actually

reach the world? 

Because it is precisely in that space between discovery and implementation that everything either gains momentum or begins to stall. And it is that moment, that tension, that is worth paying attention to. 

Challenges on the horizon 

The strategy highlights multiple challenges that become especially visible when

we look through the lens of shared understanding. They are not abstract; they are points where misalignment across the system  has consequences. 

First, the lack of a coherent and integrated framework. Europe currently does not have a unified structure for life sciences, which limits policy alignment and makes cross-sector collaboration, essential if solutions are to be sustainable, far more difficult to achieve. How can innovation scale if the rules and priorities are not speaking the same language across institutions and borders?

Second, the gap in venture capital and reliance on bank financing. While VC investment in Europe has improved over the past decade, it still lags behind other global regions. Long development and authorization timelines, combined with the specialized expertise required to evaluate life sciences projects, make it harder for investors to identify and fund promising opportunities. This limits innovators’ ability to scale and bring solutions to market. 

Third, the public trust and understanding gap. For innovations to be accepted and adopted, the public must not only know that they exist but understand how they work and how they improve societal well-being. Without that connection, even the most promising discoveries risk remaining disconnected from the world they are meant to serve. 

Viewed together, these challenges are not separate issues. They are expressions of the same underlying condition, meaning, across the system, actors are often operating without a shared view of what is being built, what change it is meant to create, and how that change interacts across sectors, contexts, and stakeholders. Policy fragmentation, financing gaps, and public hesitation are all symptoms of this misalignment. Without addressing it, alignment falters, momentum slows, and the potential of knowledge and existing solutions risks being lost before it reaches its envisioned impact. 

What this means in practice

In any large-scale process, a good place to start is with the one step you can take within your own field, one step at a time, as I say. This approach is relevant not only for life sciences, but for any innovation- or research-led work. Think of it as

an invitation to reflect—a perspective rooted in my own experience across sectors and roles, whether as a narrative strategist where narrative is the bridge between discovery and implementation,  or a social impact advisor. 

The key is to look closely at your work. Whether you are a startup, a more established company,  the question is not “what is my solution?” but “what does it enable?” What change does it create in your industry? How does it affect society in very specific ways—through new behaviors, new processes, or new practices?

Once you identify what your work enables, you must bridge the gap of relevance. For an investor, social relevance is operational resilience. It’s not just a moral choice; it’s about proving your solution fits into the future of European healthcare where regulatory alignment, public trust, and patient access are the only ways to ensure a stable, long-term return. 

This is where shared understanding begins, internally across your team and externally with those you work with. When everyone sees what the work is for, why it matters, and how it connects across systems, the work gains momentum. Conversations start or continue.  Without that clarity, even the most promising ideas risk slowing down. 

Closing note 

Coming back to my own experience with companies and initiatives from the innovation and research field, I do see the struggle: the financing, the complex product development process, the talent challenges.

But above all that, I see people who have—I will turn to my native language for a word that is at once strong and poetic—“degsme.” It describes an inner fire, a burning dedication to work on something complex, yet profoundly relevant for society. And it is precisely that “degsme” that I share, which invites me to help them, to identify that relevance, and through it, be part of this EU-scale wave and make these strategies happen in real life.