Press release 12/12/2012
In 2011 the employment of R&D in Biotechnology in the Basque Country was maintained although expenditure decreased by 1.7%
Internal expenditure on R&D activities in Biotechnology stood at 85.9 million euros in 2011
In 2011, internal expenditure on R&D for activities related to Biotechnology reached 85.9 million euros in the Basque Country, according to data provided by EUSTAT. This internal expenditure on biotechnology was down by 1.7% compared to that carried out in 2010 and accounted for 6.3% of total internal expenditure on R&D, a similar percentage to the previous year (6.4%).
The number of employed personnel stood at 1,500 individuals, which represented 1,033 individuals in equivalent-to-full-time positions. This figure was 5.8% of total personnel dedicated to R&D and meant an increase of 0.5% compared to the year before. The presence of women stood out in this field, with 65% of the total number of individuals working in biotechnology in a full-time capacity. For their part, there were 753 research personnel, following a 5.6% fall with regards to the 797 in 2010.
A total of 75 entities carried out biotechnology research activities in 2011, of which 49 were mainly or exclusively dedicated to this activity, reserving over half of their internal expenditure for biotechnology R&D. Of this total 63 belonged to the business sector.
Internal expenditure was down in the business sector
As in previous years, the business sector was the sector that presented the highest percentage of internal expenditure on R&D activities relating to Biotechnology (60.8%), although this proportion was lower than that represented in 2010 (63.1%).
The other sectors, higher education and public administration, carried out 39.2% of the remaining expenditure for 2011, a percentage that stood at 36.9% in 2010.
The public administration financed 63.5% of biotechnology activity
According to the origin of the funds, internal R&D activities relating to biotechnology in 2011 were funded mainly by the Public Administration (63.5%) and Business (26.0%). The remainder was financed via funds originating from overseas (5.4%), from Higher Education (3.2%) and Private Non-profit Institutions (1.9%).
As regards the areas of application for the products obtained as a result of biotechnology research, Human Health (77.3%) and The Environment (5.2%) both stood out. The remaining areas: The remaining 17.5% was divided in similar percentages between Food, Industry, Animal Health & Aquaculture and Agriculture & Forestry Production.
It should also be pointed out that, amongst the obstacles that inhibited the advancement of research and marketing activities relating to biotechnology products and processes in 2011, Time/Cost for carrying out R&D (94.7%) and Access to Capital (92.0%) were both important factors.
Methodological note:
Statistics on R&D in biotechnology have been collected as an additional module for Research & Development Statistics since 2007.
For further information:
Basque Statistics Office
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Tlf:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.eus
Contact: Pilar Vázquez Sancho
Tlf:+34-945-01 75 46 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01
Further press releases on R+D biotechnology in the Basque Country