Italy spotlights biotech surge at BIO 2026 as U.S. exports jump 54%

Italy is using BIO International Convention 2026 in San Diego to showcase a life sciences sector that now accounts for more than 10% of national GDP and is gaining ground in the U.S. market. Italian pharma exports to the U.S. reached €15.7 billion in 2025, up 54% from 2024, underscoring deeper transatlantic commercial ties.

Why it matters: - Italy is pushing its biotech and pharma base as a growth engine for exports, manufacturing and cross-border partnerships. - The U.S. remains the top market for Italian pharma, making BIO 2026 a key sales and collaboration venue. - Italy’s life sciences sector now plays a major role in national competitiveness, with more than 10% of GDP tied to the industry.

What happened: - Italy brought its life sciences ecosystem to BIO International Convention 2026 in San Diego, held June 22-25. - The Italian presence is organized by the Italian Trade Agency, with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy. - Farmindustria, Federchimica Assobiotec, Invitalia and Invest in Italy are supporting the effort. - Italy also hosted the Montalcini Global Biotech Tour & Italian Research Day in the World on the opening day of the convention. - The evening event was organized with the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles.

The details: - Italian pharma exports to the U.S. reached €15.7 billion in 2025, up 54% from 2024. - Italian biotech exports to the U.S. reached €3.2 billion in 2025. - Biotech accounted for 36.8% of Italy’s high-tech exports to the U.S. - Italy’s life sciences exports have grown 60% over the past five years to €52 billion annually. - Italy ranks first in the European Union for the value of pharmaceutical CDMO manufacturing, with a 24% share of the EU total. - Italy ranks first in Europe and second worldwide for patent productivity, measured by the ratio of patent applications filed to patents granted by the European Patent Office. - The Italian National Pavilion includes biotech and pharma companies, CROs, CDMOs, service providers, intellectual property firms, regional clusters, science parks and local investment agencies. - The pavilion covers drug development technologies, predictive models, artificial intelligence applications, pharmaceutical packaging, and legal and regulatory services. - The event is one of the official strategic U.S. events under OpportunItaly, a business acceleration program promoted by the Italian Trade Agency and the foreign ministry. - The BIO 2026 convention is expected to draw more than 20,000 attendees from over 76 countries, along with more than 1,500 exhibitors, nearly 150 sessions and over 600 speakers. - The roundtable at the Italy event was moderated by Clarissa Ceruti, executive director of ISSNAF. - Panelists included 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 came from Raffaella Valentini, Giosafat Riganò, Benjamin Moore and Armando De Crinito. - Companies in the Italian Pavilion include Accelera, BiomimX, Butterfly Decisions, Euromed Pharma, Fondazione Ri.MED, InSilicoTrials, IRBM, Masotti Cassella, Menarini Biotech, Regulatory Pharma Net, Società Italiana Brevetti, Soffieria Bertolini and Takis. - Regional clusters and research groups on display include Life Sciences Cluster Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Invest in Lombardy, YesMilano Business & Convention Bureau, BION, Bioindustry Park Silvano Fumero / bioPmed, Fondazione HEAL Italia and Invest in Trentino.

Between the lines: - Italy is pairing trade promotion with a pitch that its ecosystem spans research, manufacturing, regulation and market access. - The emphasis on CDMOs, AI tools, predictive testing and precision medicine suggests Italy wants to be seen as a full-service partner, not just a source of finished drugs. - Highlighting regional clusters and science parks signals that Italy is also selling local innovation networks to foreign investors and collaborators.

What's next: - Italy’s exhibitors and regional organizations will use BIO 2026 meetings to pursue partnerships, investment and U.S. market expansion. - OpportunItaly will continue serving as a channel for commercial matchmaking between foreign buyers and Italian companies. - The strong export numbers set a high bar for whether the San Diego push converts visibility into new deals.

The bottom line: - Italy arrived at BIO 2026 with a clear message: its life sciences sector is already a major export business, and the U.S. is where that growth is accelerating fastest.