March 17–19, 2025 | Milan, Italy,
March 25–26, 2025 | Digital Partnering
Spotlight on Milan
Known around the world for the quality of its industrial design and as a capital of fashion and luxury, Milan is enhancing its international reputation as a financial centre to include a new role as an emerging biotech hub.
About biotech in Milan
With a population of 3 million and with 8 international universities in its metro area, Milan lies at the center of the trade and transportation networks connecting Northern and Mediterranean Europe. Storied and cultured (Leonardo da Vinci lived there for 18 years), Milan can be easily reached by plane and train, and quickly traversed by subway, bicycle, tram or electric bus.
The city is a leading player in the European events and conventions marketplace, hosting major fairs, scientific congresses, and international sports events, like the upcoming Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Milan is attracting venture capital and private equity, particularly in genomics and digital health, and working to become a transnational prime mover in Life Sciences.
This is enabled by internationally ranked universities (Statale, Politecnico, Bocconi, Cattolica, Bicocca, IULM, San Raffaele, Humanitas) supplying STEM graduates to a buzzing R&D ecosystem which is animated by startups, incubators, accelerators including Berkeley Skydeck, and new tech zones, such as MIND, the Milano Innovation District, where more than 1,000 international researchers are already at work in the Human Technopole.
Host Organization
The Numbers of a Biotech Powerhouse
346,000
people employed by the Life Sciences supply chain in Milano and Lombardy
€85bn
value of pharma production in Lombardy (2022 data)
+50%
growth in pharma exports between 2018 and 2023
19
Research Hospitals (IRCCS)
1,026
health care facilities
115,000
health care workers in the Region
$3,451
Italian per capita spending on healthcare (2021 data)
9.7%
Health spending as share of Italian GDP, higher than OECD average
Why Milan Punches Above Its Weight For Biotech Partnering
It’s 2025 and early signs are that it is time for biotech to thrive again. At BIO-Europe Spring, the essential gathering for cultivating thriving strategic partnerships, this year we’re in Milan, a fabulous city for creating connections that lead to successful collaborations. Join the event in this vibrant epicentre of Italian design and finance and help fashion the masterpieces of the future whilst catching up on the latest trends and emerging opportunities.
More about biotech in Milan
Milan leads a strong national industry worth >€252 billion, accounting for 28% of Italy’s total R&D investment in pharma and the life sciences. The Milan Metro Area is home to over 270 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including some of the world’s largest life sciences companies, with 77 companies having >€100 million revenues. 66% have their production sites in the Milan area, and more than 52% carry out their clinical trials here, with 30 Life Science companies having established their own research centers in the city and its surrounding area.
A large number of companies in Milan specialize in producing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), automated manufacturing plants, primary and secondary packaging, and providing regulatory services. Its internationally-renowned centers of excellence conduct critical research in biomedicine and healthcare delivery, while its public hospitals and private clinics provide world-class health care.
Together with Paris and Munich, Milan was selected to host the European Unified Patent Court starting from 2024.