ERA-NET CoBioTech

ERA-NET Cofund in Biotechnology

Innovation for Europe - Life Sciences to meet the market economy

The ERA-Net Cofund in Biotechnology - CoBioTech - is a Horizon 2020 ERA-Net Cofund that comes out of 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 member states' funding mechanisms;
• Promote the cross-border circulation of knowledge;
• Publicize the benefits of the bioeconomy to society;
• Maintain and strengthen biotechnology's leading position in Europe;

CoBioTech intends to form a "Hub" in Biotechnology, an entirely new concept in which it aims to unite stakeholders from different areas of biotechnology, in order to align the different national/regional instruments and strategies, with the objectives of the Key Enabling Technologies (KET) program of Horizon 2020, and also to increase public awareness regarding 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 Industrial Biotechnology R&D in alignment 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 however does not participate in the first co-funded Call , launched in December, 2016.