ERA-NET CoBioTech

ERA-NET Cofund in Biotechnology

Innovation for Europe - Life sciences meet the market economy

The ERA-Net Cofund in Biotechnology - CoBioTech - is a Horizon 2020 ERA-Net Cofund that arises from and builds on the success of the three predecessor ERANETs, ERA-IB2 (ERA-NET in Industrial Biotechnology 2), ERASysAPP (ERA-NET in Applied Biological Systems) and ERASynBio (ERA-NET in Synthetic Biology).

Cobiotech brings together 24 funding agencies with the following mission:

• Maximize synergies between the financing mechanisms of the member states;
• Promote the cross-border circulation of knowledge;
• Publicize the benefits of the bioeconomy for society;
• Maintain and strengthen the leading position of biotechnology in Europe;

CoBioTech aims to form a Biotechnology Hub, an entirely new concept in which stakeholders from the different areas of biotechnology are brought together in order to align the different national/regional instruments and strategies with the objectives of Horizon 2020's Key Enabling Technologies (KET) program, and also to increase public awareness of the benefits of the industrial use of biotechnology.

CoBioTech intends to implement additional funding activities (including the launch of other joint transnational Calls without EU co-funding), which promise to contribute to the development of R&D in Industrial Biotechnology in line with the strategic agenda and objectives defined in the Hub, while also providing a platform to support stakeholders with regard to communication, information sharing, networking and funding.

FCT participates in CoBioTech, but does not participate in the first co-funded Call , launched in December 2016.