In the first week of May, Prague hosted BioEquity Europe 2026, Europe’s leading conference focused on biotech investment and life science innovation. It was the first time in the event’s 26-year history that the conference took place in Central and Eastern Europe — a sign of how much the region’s biotech ecosystem has evolved in recent years.
The conference was supported locally by Prague.bio, which served as a Regional Host and partner to the organisers, providing key local insight and connections within the Central European biotech ecosystem.
Over three days, the Prague Congress Centre welcomed more than 1,200 participants, including biotech CEOs, venture capital investors, startup founders, technology transfer professionals, pharmaceutical companies and research institutions from across Europe and the United States.
The choice of Prague was not accidental. International investors and industry leaders increasingly see Central Europe not only as a source of strong science and skilled talent, but also as a region of emerging biotech companies with global ambitions.
A Region Gaining Momentum
Central and Eastern Europe, including the Baltic region, today represents a life sciences workforce of around 869,000 people and generates an estimated EUR 56 billion in annual turnover. Between 2008 and 2022, the sector’s gross value added grew by more than 130%, outpacing many traditional industries.
In the Czech Republic alone, nearly 430 biotech and life science companies and institutions generate annual revenues of approximately CZK 97.5 billion and employ around 32,000 people. The country also benefits from traditionally strong academic base, with roughly 12,000 students enrolled in biology, biochemistry and chemistry-related programmes.
But beyond these numbers, the Prague meeting reflected something equally important: a growing sense of confidence across the regional ecosystem.
Throughout the conference, international participants repeatedly pointed to the region’s combination of scientific quality, competitive operating costs and increasingly experienced founders. Several investors also noted that Central Europe now offers a scale and concentration of talent that is becoming difficult to ignore.
The Prague edition also gave visibility to regional scientific and entrepreneurial success stories. Among the notable speakers was Tomáš Cihlář, Vice President of Gilead Sciences and co-developer of the HIV drug lenacapavir, alongside experts in radiopharmaceuticals, biotech entrepreneurship and talent development.
The programme extended beyond conference halls and the usual networking events. One of the accompanying cultural highlights was a performance of Elegance of the Molecule, the Czech theatre play inspired by the story of scientific excellence, vision, courage and strategic partnerships that connected Professor Antonín Holý from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, John C. Martin of Gilead Sciences and Erik De Clercq of KU Leuven, ultimately leading to the development of breakthrough antiviral drugs against HIV and hepatitis. For many international guests, the performance offered a uniquely personal introduction to the scientific story behind the Czech biotech ecosystem and its global impact.
For local startups, the conference also created a rare opportunity to meet a highly concentrated group of international investors on home ground. Many founders described the event as the first time they felt the global biotech community taking such a close interest in the region.
Beyond the Conference
For the regional ecosystem, the impact of BioEquity Europe extended beyond the conference itself. Perhaps most importantly, it brought together founders, researchers, investors, public institutions and technology transfer professionals from across Central Europe — groups that still do not interact often enough.
The event highlighted both the strengths and the remaining challenges of the region. Central Europe offers strong science, skilled talent and increasingly ambitious startups, but still faces limited scale-up financing, fragmented markets and uneven technology transfer capacity.
At the same time, the Prague edition showed that the region is becoming more connected and more comfortable presenting itself internationally. Rather than competing as isolated national ecosystems, countries across Central and Eastern Europe increasingly see value in working together and presenting the region as a broader innovation hub with complementary strengths.
Another clear takeaway was that visibility matters. Scientific quality alone is rarely enough to attract international investors and strategic partners. Ecosystems also need platforms where investors can meet founders and researchers directly, and where emerging regions can build long-term international relationships.
For many participants, BioEquity Europe 2026 felt less like a symbolic expansion eastward and more like recognition of a region that has been steadily building scientific and entrepreneurial capacity for years.
About the author
Petra Kinzlová serves as CEO of Prague.bio.
Prague.bio is a Czech biotech association bringing together research institutions, startups, industry and investors across the life sciences ecosystem. Established in 2023, it focuses on strengthening collaboration within the Czech Republic and across Central Europe, supporting knowledge exchange, and increasing the international visibility of the region’s biotech sector. Its activities include ecosystem-building initiatives, including the organisation of the Prague.bio Conference, an annual event convening stakeholders from across the Central European biotech landscape.
Within the Czech and broader Central European context, Prague.bio contributes to better connectivity between research, industry and investment communities, and helps facilitate dialogue and understanding between local stakeholders and international partners.
