Biology news of the week – 6 October 2026
A short weekly selection of what matters for biologists in Europe. Not everything, just the items worth knowing.
Policy and funding
EU Biotech Act. The European Commission’s proposal aims to speed up clinical trials, support investment and make the EU a more attractive place for life sciences by 2030. The Parliament and the Council are preparing their positions; negotiations between the institutions may start in the last quarter of 2026, with adoption not expected before the end of the year. Overview (Jones Day)
€10 billion for European biotech. The Commission and the European Investment Bank are working on BioTechEU, an initiative to mobilise €10 billion of public and private investment in 2026–27. EIB
Next EU research programme (FP10). The successor to Horizon Europe (2028–2034) is being negotiated, with a proposed budget of €175 billion, roughly double the current programme. The final regulation should be adopted before summer 2027, but the budget per pillar is still open. FASI
Gene-edited plants. The EU regulation on plants obtained with new genomic techniques (NGT) was adopted this year. Plants whose changes could also arise naturally or through conventional breeding (category 1) will be treated like conventional crops; more complex modifications (category 2) stay under GMO rules. The rules are expected to apply from 2028. EU IP Helpdesk
Nature and biodiversity
UN biodiversity summit, 19–30 October. COP17 of the Convention on Biological Diversity meets in Yerevan, Armenia, for the first global review of progress on the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework, preceded by a leaders’ summit on 15–16 October. Synthetic biology and genetic resources are on the agenda. CBD
Nature restoration plans. EU member states submitted their draft national restoration plans to the Commission on 1 September, an important step in implementing the EU Nature Restoration Regulation. European Commission
€230 million for biodiversity research. A new Horizon Europe call with ten topics, among them the effects of PFAS on biodiversity and the decline of invertebrates, opened on 2 October. European Commission
Industry
Biosimilars. Fresenius announced on 1 October that it has acquired the remaining 45% of mAbxience for up to €750 million, making its biosimilars platform wholly owned. Pharma Letter
Prizes
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded for optogenetics. Read our report. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is announced on 7 October.
Ig Nobel Prizes. The 36th ceremony was held outside the United States for the first time, in Zurich on 3 September. Winners include a study on the energy content of cockroach milk, a scientific definition of kissing across ants, birds, polar bears and humans, and buried cotton underwear as a measure of soil health. Smithsonian Magazine
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