Italy Brings Fast-Growing Biotech and Pharma Ecosystem to BIO 2026 as U.S. Exports Surge 54%
Italian Pavilion at BIO 2026
That momentum is the backdrop for Italy’s participation in BIO International Convention 2026, taking place in San Diego from June 22 to 25, one of the world’s leading events for biotechnology and life sciences. The Italian presence is organized by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, with the support of Farmindustria, Federchimica Assobiotec, Invitalia, and Invest in Italy.
The Italian National Pavilion brings together biotech and pharma companies — including organizations active as CROs (Contract Research Organizations) and CDMOs (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations) — specialized service providers, intellectual property firms, regional clusters, science parks, and local investment attraction agencies. Together, they offer a cross-section of Italy’s life sciences ecosystem, spanning drug development technologies, predictive models, artificial intelligence applications, pharmaceutical packaging, and legal and regulatory services, within a sector whose exports have grown 60% over the past five years, reaching €52 billion annually.
The BIO International Convention is the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, bringing together global leaders, companies, investors, policymakers, and industry partners across biotech and biopharma for four days of networking, programming, and partnering. The 2026 edition is expected to welcome more than 20,000 attendees from over 76 countries, with more than 1,500 exhibitors, nearly 150 sessions, and over 600 speakers.
On the opening day of the Convention, San Diego also hosted the Montalcini Global Biotech Tour & Italian Research Day in the World event, organized in collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles. The evening brought together companies, innovation clusters, research institutions, investors, and strategic organizations from Italy and the United States, creating a dedicated platform for scientific exchange, industrial partnerships, and transatlantic collaboration.
The event featured a roundtable moderated by Clarissa Ceruti, Executive Director of ISSNAF, with Marco Pravetoni of CounterX Therapeutics, Luca Scaccabarozzi of Euromed Pharma, Alba Grifoni of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, and Nicola Torre of Menarini Biotech. Opening remarks were delivered by Raffaella Valentini, Consul General of Italy in Los Angeles; Giosafat Riganò, Trade Commissioner of the Italian Trade Agency Los Angeles Office; Benjamin Moore, Senior Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Mayor of San Diego; and Armando De Crinito, Director General for Economic Development of Lombardy Region.
As part of ITA’s broader mission to promote Italian excellence and strengthen international business relations, Bio International Convention 2026 has been selected as one of the official strategic events in the US under OpportunItaly — the business acceleration programme promoted by the Italian Trade Agency and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation designed to foster the development of commercial connections between foreign buyers, distributors, entrepreneurs and Italian companies.
Italy’s life sciences sector accounts for more than 10% of national GDP and is a major driver of the country’s international competitiveness. Italy ranks first in the European Union for the value of pharmaceutical CDMO manufacturing — outsourced pharmaceutical development and manufacturing — with a 24% share of the EU total. It also ranks first in Europe and second worldwide for patent productivity, measured as the ratio between patent applications filed and patents actually granted by the relevant international authority — in Italy’s case, the European Patent Office.
That strength is increasingly reflected in international markets. Over the past five years, Italy’s life sciences exports have grown by 60%, reaching €52 billion annually. The United States remains the top destination market for Italian pharma exports. In 2025, Italian pharma exports to the U.S. reached €15.7 billion, up 54% from 2024. Italian biotech exports to the U.S. reached €3.2 billion. Biotech also represents the largest component of Italy’s high-tech exports to the United States, accounting for 36.8% of the total.
The Italian organizations exhibiting in San Diego reflect the breadth of the country’s life sciences value chain. Their expertise ranges from preclinical research and drug discovery to organ-on-a-chip models for more predictive pharmaceutical testing; from in silico simulation platforms, digital twins, and AI tools designed to accelerate drug development to AI-assisted decision-making systems. The delegation also includes advanced biotech solutions — including genetic vaccines, cancer immunotherapies, and innovations for personalized medicine — as well as regulatory and market access services for companies looking to enter the European market.
The industrial services and infrastructure side of the ecosystem is represented by organizations active in the international distribution of innovative pharmaceuticals, clinical trial program management, packaging, intellectual property protection, and specialized legal assistance for corporate transactions, public administration relations, contracting, and public procurement in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors.
The companies exhibiting within the Italian Pavilion at BIO 2026 are Accelera (Nerviano, Milan), BiomimX (Milan), Butterfly Decisions (Salerno), Euromed Pharma (Naples), Fondazione Ri.MED (Palermo), InSilicoTrials (Trieste), IRBM (Pomezia, Rome), Masotti Cassella (Milan), Menarini Biotech (Pomezia, Rome), Regulatory Pharma Net – RPN (Pisa), Società Italiana Brevetti (Rome), Soffieria Bertolini (Candiolo, Turin), and Takis (Rome).
Alongside them, regional clusters, science parks, research entities, and investment attraction agencies are showcasing the strength of Italy’s regional innovation ecosystems: from precision medicine networks to technology transfer programs, from soft-landing tools for foreign companies to services supporting startups, research and development, business development, and collaboration among universities, hospitals, research centers, industry, and institutions. These entities are Life Sciences Cluster Friuli-Venezia Giulia – Polo Tecnologico Alto Adriatico, Invest in Lombardy, YesMilano Business & Convention Bureau, BION – Lombardy Life Sciences Cluster, Bioindustry Park Silvano Fumero / bioPmed – Piemonte Healthcare Cluster, Fondazione HEAL Italia, and Invest in Trentino.
Roberto Rafaschieri
Blum
roberto.rafaschieri@blum.vision
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