European BioTech Act : What’s in it for Microbiome Science and Innovation? (Copier)

The World Microbiome Partnership (WMP) welcomes the European Commission’s proposal for the new EU Biotech Act—an ambitious initiative to boost the global competitiveness of the EU biotechnology and biomanufacturing sectors. This vision closely aligns with WMP’s mission to advance microbiome science within a One Health framework.

We are delighted with the message that health innovation must go hand in hand with prevention, sustainability, and scientific excellence.

The legislative package also includes the “SafeHearts” plan, which recognizes food system transformation as a cornerstone of disease prevention. With non-communicable diseases and chronic conditions on the rise, the Commission acknowledges that better nutrition and healthy microbiome awareness are essential components of effective public health strategies.

By promoting microbiome-friendly choices, addressing the growing burden of ultra-processed foods, and improving cardiovascular risk prediction, the ‘SafeHearts’ plan places prevention at the centre of public health strategies. The target to reduce premature deaths related to cardiovascular disease by 25% is ambitious, yet necessary.  WMP stands ready to contribute its scientific expertise and work to support this objective. We also congratulate the reference to the recently issued call on sustainable and healthy diets for cardiovascular disease prevention, which explicitly highlights the link between nutrition, the gut microbiome, and cardiovascular health. This mention marks an important step forward in acknowledging microbiomes as key enablers of prevention, prediction, and personalized health approaches.

Finally, WMP thanks the Biotech Act for its emphasis on the need for a deeper understanding of microbiomes through a One Health perspective, echoing the statements from Life Science strategy. By bridging human, animal, and environmental health, this approach creates new opportunities for innovative, systems-based solutions that can deliver tangible benefits to citizens across Europe and beyond.

We would like to highlight that the European Parliament, with a Motion of Resolution being issued on 18th December, sent a strong support signal. Among various crucial elements for the microbiome, the Motion highlights several elements of particular relevance to microbiome science and innovation, including:

• The role of blue bioeconomy, such as the use of enzymes for human health
• The need to scale up genomic sequencing to support early diagnosis and screening
•  The strong potential of phage therapy responding to antimicrobial resistance problems.
• The importance of smoother regulatory assessments, more flexible off-patent solutions use, and the cohesion between intersecting legislative frameworks, such as Substances of Human Origin (directly applying to human microbiome samples) and Advanced Therapies both of key importance to advancing microbiome-based solutions.

As the EU Biotech Act moves forward, the microbiome community stands ready to contribute its expertise, evidence, and collaborative spirit. We look forward to bringing these statements into action at global level.