A number of policies have been developed in Europe, to facilitate the scientific and commercial development of high-technology sectors. How effective have these policies been? This paper addresses this question by exploring the impacts of policy on the development of biotechnology in the Member States. It analyses policy effects on the performance of different actor types that are crucial for a prospering biotechnology innovation system (start-ups, established firms, research labs, universities, and so on). The diversity of the measures and schemes to encourage the development of biotechnology reflects the diversity of the framework conditions, cultural preferences and political priorities in the Member States. Priority could have been given to research or to commercialisation. Incentive schemes and support policies could be dedicated to biotechnology as a sector, or targeted towards all innovative sectors, depending on national context. The organisation of research and development may be more or less efficient, depending on how funds are allocated and on the extent to which they are linked to priorities