One year on: European support for COVID-19 innovation

The European Commission organised a public online event to take stock of innovation responses to the COVID-19 pandemic one year after the outbreak reached Europe. The European Innovation Council and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology jointly showcased innovators who received support through rapidly mobilised EU programmes. The event was opened by Mariya Gabriel who was European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth at the time.

Event logistics and how to watch

Save the date. The online session took place on Wednesday 10 March 2021, from 10:00 to 11:00 Central European Time. The event was available by livestream on the EUScienceInnov YouTube account so that the wider public, stakeholders and press could follow demonstrations and short testimonies from innovators supported by EU programmes.

Speakers and innovators featured

Three innovators described how EU support helped them accelerate activity relevant to the pandemic. Each example illustrates a different strand of the EU innovation ecosystem from clinical biotechs to hackathon winners and materials research for personal protective equipment.

Three case studies presented and caveats

The event highlighted three projects that benefited from EU programmes. Each case demonstrates different pathways from idea to application. The claims reported by organisers reflected progress at a particular moment in time. In public briefings like this one it is important to distinguish between promising early results and proven, deployable products. Clinical candidates need rigorous trials and manufacturing scale up. Hackathon winners and materials projects often require follow-on funding to introduce robust supply chains and certification.

How the EU mobilised support and the limits of rapid response

When the pandemic began the Commission redirected or accelerated multiple instruments to support innovators. That included grant funding, coaching and acceleration services, hackathons and efforts to connect innovators with national and regional actors. Agencies such as the European Innovation Council and the EIT worked with executive agencies that manage operational delivery. Rapid support helped reduce some time-to-market barriers, but systemic bottlenecks remained. Those include time-consuming clinical validation for therapeutics, regulatory approvals for medical devices and PPE, and the challenge of turning prototypes into reliable mass production.

Implications and what to watch next

Public demonstrations of supported projects are useful for accountability and for signalling active ecosystems. They also create expectations. Observers should look for evidence beyond promises. For therapeutics monitor trial registrations, peer reviewed results and regulatory decisions. For hardware and materials look for certifications, production scale announcements and procurement by healthcare providers. For hackathon-derived projects follow their transition to sustained business models and integration with local health systems.

Practical follow up

The event was livestreamed on EUScienceInnov's YouTube account. Attendees and others interested in the projects should consult programme pages of the European Innovation Council and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology for updates, official project descriptions and details on funding instruments. For clinical projects check clinical trial registries and peer reviewed publications for independent verification of claims.

The examples presented in the one year on event illustrate how EU instruments can channel resources quickly to innovators. The interventions provide useful short term support. They are not a substitute for the longer term and resource intensive processes required to demonstrate safety, effectiveness and to scale solutions into sustained public benefit.