The BIO-RED consortium brings together 11 partners from 7 EU countries, covering seven regions: less developed regions in Portugal, Greece, and Lithuania; a transition region in Bulgaria; and developed regions in France, Sweden, and Denmark.

The consortium represents the quadruple helix, engaging public authorities, innovation intermediaries (clusters), research organisations, companies, and development agencies, supported by two horizontal partners providing advisory and management expertise.

Cooperation is based on complementary Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) that prioritise biotechnology, health, digital transformation, and sustainability. Each participating region brings specific expertise — from AI and digital tools for drug discovery to sustainable biomanufacturing and green chemistry — enabling strong cross-regional complementarities.

BIO-RED directly benefits Less Developed and Transition Regions (LDR/TR) by building their institutional and investment capacities, fostering knowledge transfer, and connecting them with mature innovation ecosystems. It provides access to advanced infrastructures, technical know-how, and international value chains, increasing competitiveness and participation in EU markets.

While some partners have collaborated in previous European projects (e.g., Interreg, Horizon Europe, and S3 partnerships in health innovation), BIO-RED represents the first integrated interregional initiative specifically focused on Red Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, structured to generate long-term cooperation and investment pipelines.

BIO-RED drives innovation across two interlinked domains: digital innovation and green technologies in Red Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals. Expected innovations include technological, process, and product advancements, such as the use of AI and machine learning for drug discovery and predictive modelling, green chemistry for sustainable production, and advanced organoid models reducing animal testing. These developments target Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 4–7, bridging laboratory validation with real-world application.

The project reinforces regional R&I excellence by integrating digital tools into sustainable biomanufacturing, fostering knowledge production and cross-sectoral innovation. It promotes data-driven approaches, predictive analytics, and eco-innovative methods that improve efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness across value chains.

To identify and prepare interregional investment projects, BIO-RED implements a structured process that includes: 1) Value chain mapping and design, identifying complementarities and market opportunities; 2) Feasibility and investment-readiness assessments, ensuring alignment with EU funding mechanisms; 3) Joint strategy development and policy support, through dedicated labs and roadmaps; 4) Legal, financial, and technical advisory activities, facilitated through the Biotech & Pharma Accelerator.

By combining scientific excellence with investment planning, BIO-RED bridges the gap between innovation potential and market realisation, supporting Europe’s leadership in sustainable biotech and pharma.

BIO-RED’s capacity-building approach aims to strengthen the institutional, innovation, and investment capacities of all stakeholders within regional innovation ecosystems, enabling long-term interregional cooperation and investment readiness.

For public authorities, the project enhances strategic and operational capacities by providing policy labs, training sessions, and strategic roadmaps that facilitate the alignment of regional policies with Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) and EU priorities. Public authorities gain improved skills in designing and managing innovation-support mechanisms, and stronger connections with ERDF funding instruments to sustain actions beyond the project.

For innovation intermediaries, such as clusters, regional development agencies, and research organisations, BIO-RED reinforces their ability to coordinate and connect actors across the quadruple helix. Through co-creation labs, hackathons, and staff exchanges, these intermediaries gain hands-on experience in developing joint projects, identifying cross-regional value chains, and facilitating technology transfer between research and industry.

For industry and SMEs, particularly in less developed regions, BIO-RED provides mentoring, coaching, and accelerator programmes that increase their capacity to translate R&I results into market-oriented business cases. These actions promote investment-readiness and facilitate integration into EU-wide biotech and pharma value chains.

Capacity-building activities also include knowledge-sharing workshops, matchmaking events, and digital platforms to sustain cooperation and dissemination. The Biotech & Pharma Accelerator acts as a central mechanism for capacity building by linking policy support, business development, and interregional investment planning.

Overall, BIO-RED’s capacity-building framework ensures that each stakeholder group gains the competencies, networks, and tools necessary to sustain cross-regional innovation ecosystems and accelerate joint investments in red biotechnology and pharmaceuticals across Europe.

BIO-RED will deliver mature interregional business cases in digital and green biotechnology, advancing AI-driven predictive modelling, green chemistry, and organoid-based drug development.

Short-term results include mapped ecosystems, joint roadmaps, and validated business cases supported through the Biotech & Pharma Accelerator.

Medium-term impacts foresee enhanced innovation ecosystems, improved investment readiness, and integration of less developed regions into EU value chains.

In the long run, BIO-RED will foster a sustainable, competitive European biotech and pharma ecosystem, reinforce policy alignment, attract new interregional investments, and create economic, social, and environmental benefits through greener, more efficient, and ethical innovation practices.

BIO-RED’s timeline shows a structured capacity-building journey. The Kick-off Meeting (month 1) initiated coordination and partnership alignment. WP2’s main activity (month 8) focuses on mapping regional ecosystems and drafting the Joint Strategic Interregional Roadmap. WP3 (months 6-18) previous the creation of thematic labs, hackathons, and policy roundtables driving cooperation, knowledge transfer, and business case creation. In WP4, the Biotech & Pharma Accelerator (months 8-23) supports investment-readiness and scaling of innovations. Finally, WP5 (months 1-24) ensures impact through multiple interregional events, conferences, dissemination activities, and the launch of the Open Innovation Platform, ensuring long-term visibility and engagement.