In a recent study, the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) compares 8 European countries in the area of innovation in bio-pharmaceutics. The resounding conclusion is that Belgium delivers the best performance. This finding is all the more apparent in the Flanders Region, where recent initiatives are stimulating biotech growth with success. One of the initiatives is the ‘Knowledge for Growth’ conference now being held at Flanders Expo, where the Flemish biotech players are presenting their technologies, products, and knowledge to each other.

Belgium: the best biotech player

The OECD study shows that − in comparison with the other European countries in the study − Belgium scores highest in innovation and industry, and also ranks second in science.

Mature biotech companies

Comparative data on the number of biotech companies per million inhabitants (European Biotech Scoreboard 2003) indicate that Belgium is above the European average with regard to the number of pure biotech companies. Our country even ranks first with regard to the average number of employees per biotech company (60+).

This indicates that the Flemish biotech companies are much more fully-developed than the average European biotech company. The market introduction of Galapagos that has been accomplished and the market introduction of DevGen that is planned underscore this fact.

Greatest number of patents

Patents are most often a cornerstone in the development of innovative biotech companies. The finding that Belgium is No. 1 with regard to the number of bio-pharmaceutical patent applications per million inhabitants − scoring even better than countries like the UK and the US − is very promising for the global position of Flemish biotech. The positive report is even further reinforced by the observation that Belgium is the front runner on the European Continent concerning the number of drugs in clinical development.

Innovative science

Belgium also does extremely well in the area of science. In fact, Belgium has risen from 5th to 3rd place with regard to the number of scientific publications in the field of bio-pharmacy. The widely acknowledged high productivity of the Flemish worker is corroborated above all in the biotech sector. Belgium occupies 2nd place for the average publication output per scientist.

Biotech in Flanders

These national results are all the more valid for Flanders. With over 20,000 employees in the life sciences − over 7,000 of whom are directly employed in biotechnology − and more than 6,100 researchers in the Flemish universities and research institutes, Flanders is brimming over with biotech activity.

Flemish companies

At present, Flanders is home to over 40 pur sang biotech companies.  Some 70 other companies − including large (bio)pharma corporations, food companies, crop-improvement agricultural firms, enzyme producers, and many others − are implementing biotech in their research and development and/or production processes.

Furthermore, some 70 providers of specialized services and products and about 30 financiers to the life sciences industry attend to lubricating the engine of the Flemish biotech cluster. Over 200 companies all told, and this figure is growing each day. On the one hand, the list is growing through the start-up of new pur sang biotech companies like the recent additions Peakadilly, Diatos, TorreyPines Therapeutics and BioActor. On the other hand, biotech is also extending its impact to the more traditional sectors. Examples in this area are the planned investments in the production of bio-fuels by the Alco group and Bioro nv − good for €80 million in investment funds and about 100 new jobs.

Exogenous growth

While the creation of start-ups and the expansion of existing companies are enlarging the Flemish cluster, it is also growing by attracting foreign biotech companies to Flanders. To be able to catalyze this process more pro-actively, VIB, FlandersBio and FFIO have recently set up a “Welcome to Flanders” team for biotech companies. This team prospects foreign biotech companies and companies in the life sciences that are planning to start a new office outside their homeland. The team then assists the companies considering locating in Flanders with important aspects in a move to the region: from choosing a location, finding the right personnel, and obtaining the necessary permits, to applying for the right incentives, establishing commercial and scientific contacts, and acquiring knowledge about joint ventures.

A prime example of how such a coordinated approach can lead to concrete results is the recruitment of Yakult’s European research center to the VIB bio-incubator. Flanders has already appeared on the radar screens of a number of American and Japanese companies and is conducting ongoing acquaintance discussions with many of them.

Knowledge for Growth

FlandersBio and VIB have worked hard to set up ‘Knowledge for Growth’, the very first conference where the Flemish players can present their technologies, products, and knowledge to each other. Researchers from Flemish academic institutions and Flemish companies get the unique opportunity to exchange their expertise and lay the groundwork for future collaborations. With more than 400 participants, 40 presentations, over 80 posters, workshops and a biotech exhibition, ‘Knowledge for Growth’ also provides a thorough overview of biotechnology in Flanders. The conference is being concluded by Fientje Moerman (Flanders Minister of Economy, Enterprise, Science, Innovation and Foreign Commerce), who will again emphasize the importance of the sector for the future of Flanders.

About FlandersBio

FlandersBio is the cluster of Flemish biotech players: i.e., companies, research institutes, investors, and service industries.  FlandersBio acts as the driving force for the continuous growth of the Flemish biotech industry by:

·          promoting exchange of knowledge and collaboration among the participants

·          creating a stimulating environment for biotechnology

·          facilitating entrepreneurship

·          promoting the international visibility of Flanders as a biotech region

About the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB)

VIB, the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology, is a research institute where 850 scientists and technicians conduct gene technological research in a number of life-science domains, such as human health care and plant systems biology.  Through a close cooperation with four Flemish universities (Ghent University, the Catholic University of Leuven, the University of Antwerp, and the Free University of Brussels) and a solid funding program for strategic basic research, VIB unites the forces of nine university science departments in a single institute. Through its tech transfer activities, VIB strives to convert the research results into products for consumers and patients. VIB also distributes scientifically substantiated information about all aspects of biotechnology to the general public.

About Flanders Foreign Investment Office (FFIO)

Flanders Foreign Investment Office (FFIO), also called Investment Service in Flanders, is the Flanders governmental agency that actively promotes Flanders as an investment site for foreign companies. Through the FFIO, potential investors can benefit from personal advice and guidance in all financial, technical, and practical matters, entirely free of charge. In addition to the head office in Brussels, FFIO also has branches in the USA, Japan, and the United Kingdom.