Euronews OCEAN Season 3 Episode 3 - Health

The blue biotechnology sector is a fascinating niche in the European blue economy. It uses living marine organisms – algae, bacteria, fungi, shellfish – to develop new, sustainable applications for a variety of sectors, ranging from pharmaceuticals and textiles to chemicals, packaging, fuel and more.

In this Euronews OCEAN episode, we zoom in on what the blue bioeconomy has brought to the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector. In recent years, marine biotechnology has led to the development of promising new medicines, therapies, diagnostics and vaccines. (Yes, that includes covid-19 vaccines!)

For example, biotechnological breakthroughs have created new medicines for patients suffering from growth diseases, metabolic diseases, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.

We follow the Sea4Us project and are diving with marine researchers collecting invertebrate samples in the Portuguese Algarve. Our reporter will also visit the Sea4Us lab in Lisbon where they’re studying sponges, looking for molecules with anti-pain properties for potential pharmaceutical use.

Finally, we also meet research teams at the CIIMAR centre in Porto. They conduct EU-funded projects studying marine cyanobacteria in the fight against cancer and obesity.

Tune in to Euronews from 30 March @ 20:50 CET – on any platform.

OCEAN is a Euronews magazine in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE). Season 3 features monthly 8-minute videos where we highlight fascinating projects and developments related to the ocean and coastal communities.

The first two seasons featured episodes on marine protected areas, small-scale fisheries, ocean energy, aquaculture, IUU fishing, sustainable fisheries and more. Missed one? Check them out on Euronews website! You will also find some nice extras about these topics.

Feel free to share on social media, tagging @EU_MARE and @euronews and using the hashtag #oceanEU.

More information

Sea4Us project website https://sea4us.pt/en/

Euronews Ocean: The ocean, a source of treatment for some of the world's worst diseases