INNOVATION SPOTLIGHT Italy's just launched the first public laboratory for production of personalized anti-cancer drugs for clinical trials    Rome – FaBioCell (Cellular Biological Pharmaceuticals) is the new public laboratory inaugurated by the Italian Minister of Health. Located in the ISS (the Italian National Institute of Health) it will use the dendritic cells of individual patients for the production of anti-cancer drugs and vaccines. It will allow trials of cancer immunotherapy, in collaboration with 3 major Italian hospital centers: Istituto Regina Elena of Rome, Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (Fondazione G. Pascale of Naples) and the National Cancer Institute of Milan. The newly established laboratory welcomes cooperation with the international biotech community to get ahead with scientific achievements and business opportunities. Italy to Launch Europe's First Institute for Regenerative Medicine    Modena – The University of Modena and the Eye Bank Foundation of Venice have joined forces to create a public/private partnership forming the Research Center for Regenerative Medicine. It will become the first such center in Europe focused on stem cell therapy for treating vision disorders caused by tissue/organ damage and genetic defects. Italy Leads Development of Gene Expression Atlas    Naples – The Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) is spearheading a team made up of 12 major European research institutes to develop the first comprehensive atlas of gene expressions with an estimated identification of 30,000 genes. The European Institute of Oncology is supported by the US National Cancer Institute for lung cancer research    Milan – The Italy based European Institute of Oncology was selected and funded US$850,000 by the National Cancer Institute as the best research center in Europe and US to conduct clinical studies for pharmacological prevention related to lung cancer. The research pool is committed to cancer screening with the ultimate and ambitious goal of discovering how to stop lung cancer growth at a very early stage.

A breeding ground for biotech companies
   Italy's Life Sciences industry is becoming ever more appealing for multinational companies seeking to pursue biotechnology and pharmaceutical research. The sector is spurred on by the strong interaction between academia and business environment, a vibrant medical and hospital system, the capacity of world-class scientists to produce leading-edge research as well as government support.
   Italy's upsurge in the Life Sciences is also proved by a fast growing Biotech environment, with 163 companies today and a growth rate of 63% over the last 5 years. Furthermore, the strong innovation that marks Italian bio-industry and the high quality of products in the development pipeline (59 products of which 30 in clinical trials) make Italy poised for take-off to efficiently compete with major European countries.

Competitive advantages for international investors
   Italy's competitive advantage for international investors is also represented by the skilled workforce. Its R&D professionals – 6,000 researchers employed by businesses, a pool of 20,000 university researchers, 200,000 students and 35,000 graduates annually in Biotechnology, Pharmacy and Medicine – are extremely productive, with creativity second to no competitor country worldwide. As a proof, Italy ranks top in Europe for patent productivity and impact rate of publications.
   Start-ups and new business initiatives can count on the support of a network of science parks specialized in Life Sciences, with a track record of excellence in Biotechnology, Biomedical technology, Diagnostics, Genomics. Besides, labor, business and clinical trials costs are internationally competitive with respect to USA, UK, France and Germany.