Biotech

EU Biotech Act and Food and Feed Safety Simplification Omnibus: what’s in it for the food and feed sector?

December 2025 brought two major regulatory proposals from the European Commission: the first part of the EU Biotech Act and the Food and Feed Safety Simplification Omnibus. Together they promise regulatory sandboxes for testing innovative products, a broader advisory role for EFSA, tailored rules for genetically modified micro-organisms, and a move from time-limited to unlimited approvals for substances with proven safety records. For food and feed businesses, that translates into faster market access, lighter administrative burdens and more legal certainty, provided the underlying safety standards keep pace.

Axon assists medical technology companies in structuring their collaborations with hospitals and universities. We draft and negotiate cooperation agreements that protect our clients’ IP while fostering innovation.

Axon assisted a French VC company investing in a food tech start-up. We reviewed the target’s regulatory strategy under the EU novel foods framework, assessed its feasibility and outlined potential risks and how to mitigate these.

Axon helped The Protein Brewery rename its novel food product. We proposed consumer-friendly alternatives to the European Commission, resulting in an approved name the client is very happy with.

As a partner of StartLife, Axon assisted a feed company with the regulatory qualification of its technology. Our reasoned opinion serves as a key document for the company’s funding activities.

A Nordic company owns a proprietary technology for producing legume-based meat alternatives. Axon drafted technology licensing agreements and developed an IP strategy covering patents and trade secrets, with practical checklists for implementation.

Axon regularly advises spin-outs from academic institutions on a wide range of topics. We make sure that the spin-out’s license agreement includes commercially and legally viable terms and is attractive to investors. In addition, we advise on the corporate structure of the spin-out, balancing the interest of the founders, the academic institution and all other stakeholders.

Axon advised a Dutch joint venture, that is active within the agri-food and agricultural biotechnology sector, on the transfer of its assets to a German investment fund. The transferred assets involved patent rights, plant breeders’ rights, trade secrets and biological materials.

Axon advised a stock-listed biopharmaceutical company on antibody licensing and technology transfer agreements with two major US-based pharmaceutical companies. The deals involved the grant of commercial rights to the licensor's proprietary antibody platform technology.

Axon assisted a Dutch cultivated materials company in securing a EUR 22M Series A financing round. We advised on the transaction structure, investment documentation and related matters.