Moderna knocks on Italy’s door to invest but no one responds
Former minister Tria, now advisor to minister Giorgetti and president of Enea Tech and Biomedical, said that the pharmaceutical giant Moderna wants to invest in Italy, but our country does not seem to respond to the appeal. All the details
Moderna wants to invest in Italy, but Italy is not ready. Or he doesn't know what to do.
To reveal it in a long interview with the Corriere della sera ( Economy of Monday) is the former Minister of Economy and Finance, Giovanni Tria, now economic advisor for activities related to the vaccination policy relating to the health emergency from Covid-19 at the Ministry of Economic Development (Mise) headed by Giancarlo Giorgetti.
Tria, since last January 6 , is also president of the "Enea Tech and Biomedical" Foundation which manages both the "Fund for technology transfer" and the new "Fund for biomedical industrial research and development" on behalf of Mise. Budget law.
WHAT TRIA SAID
During the interview, the former government minister Conte 1 is asked if an investment by the US pharmaceutical company Moderna in the production of vaccines in Italy is realistic.
Tria replied that it is and that the negotiation would greatly help the Enea Tech and Biomedical project. Moderna, explained the economist, “is willing to bring its production system to Italy with its mRna platforms for all new types of drugs”.
So what are we waiting for? According to Tria, Italy lacks "a public actor capable of making long-term financial agreements with the company". As to who this public actor might be, he stated that he does not believe that the foundation he presides over could be, but "in any case it is up to the government to decide".
THE TROUBLE HISTORY OF ENEA TECH
As Il Sole24Ore wrote, the foundation headed by Tria, first Enea Tech then Enea Tech and Biomedical, "had a dowry of 500 million, then of 900 million, then after only two months again of 500".
It was born with the intention of supporting startups in four sectors: information technology, green energy, healthcare and technologies related to infrastructures and materials. In December 2020 it started "with a dowry of 500 million, up to a maximum of 1.4 million in 5 years" and by spring 2021 the first hundreds of companies had already applied to receive funds.
THE CHANGE OF COURSE
“Then – recalls the economic newspaper – suddenly a stop because the fund is transformed into something, in theory, even more advanced: it had to support pharmaceutical research, looking in particular at the development of a possible anti-covid vaccine supply chain. Thus it is renamed Enea Tech and Biomedical, with an additional dowry, thanks to the Sostegni bis decree of July, of 400 million more, with the request that a total of 650 million be addressed for this new biomedical purpose ".
From there, however, despite the arrival of funding, the foundation is not yet ready to leave. No Board, Statute or President to direct it.
On 17 September, Il Sole24Ore writes, "the general management of the Mise underlines in a decree that 'there are currently no needs for additional resources and that therefore it is possible to postpone the transfer'". The 400 million of the Sostegni bis therefore go back to the coffers from which they came: those of Invitalia, which otherwise – we read in Panorama – “would have left the development contract counter suspended with many pending applications”.
At this point Enea Tech finds itself with 500 million euros unused. So what will the foundation be for?
TRIA'S ANSWER
During the interview, Tria explained that Enea Tech and Biomedical will not be just a window to finance innovative projects because it aims rather to “be something that meets more complex needs”.
The ambition is to “have planning skills, involve private individuals and operate according to targeted programs” because, Tria recalled, we need to look at larger projects.
WHAT ITALY IS LACKING FOR BIG PROJECTS
The former Minister of Economy then gave an example of what happened – or rather, did not happen – with the funding for the production of anti Covid vaccines in Italy.
“In Italy there were promising projects but, despite budget differences of around 150 billion euros, it was not possible to find 80 million for something so important. So it is not a question of creating branches to provide subsidies, but of having planning skills […] ”.
“The logic of the branch – explained Tria – can be used to support startups and we will be able to do so in part. But here it is a question of looking above all at larger projects, with larger subjects. In Italy we do not have a Pasteur Institute, a Barda like in the United States capable of operating in that direction ".
THE FUTURE OF ENEA TECH AND BIOMEDICAL
Enea Tech and Biomedical, as the economist said, for now does not have the ambition to become like one of these great institutions but the direction is that: "starting in aid to research in its initial and riskiest part, aid to technological poles ", with an eye" above all to industrial reconversion to conduct this supply chain in an articulated way "because, concludes Tria," today there was no entity capable of carrying out this function in the decentralized healthcare system of the country ".
THE IPCEI PROJECT
The Important Projects of Common European Interest (Ipcei) project seems to go in this direction, that is the important project of common European interest, in particular on health, that the MISE has undertaken to build as part of industrial policy initiatives promoted by Italy with the other EU member states and the EU Commission.
“The Italian pharmaceutical industry is a candidate to be a point of reference at the European level. Since the beginning of my mandate, I have focused a lot on the excellence of our pharmaceutical industries. I am confident that everyone's efforts and commitment will soon show their fruits ”, Giorgetti said about the IPCEI.
Companies interested in participating in the initiative can propose an investment project in Italy by next February 28th. "The selected projects", reads on Radiocor , "can be financed by way of derogation from the European legislation on state aid, to address market and social challenges that could not be overcome in any other way, but possibly also with resources from the NRP and resilience if the related activities will comply with national and European environmental legislation ".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/moderna-bussa-alla-porta-italia-per-investire-ma-nessuno-risponde/ on Tue, 15 Feb 2022 10:34:00 +0000.