BioWin: Providing growth for SMEs in the health sector in Wallonia Interview with Mrs Sylvie PONCHAUT, Managing Director of the BioWin competitiveness cluster BioWin is focusing on internationalisation and interdisciplinarity in order to achieve its goals for the next 4 years. BioWin will offer its members new opportunities for R&D collaboration with the best ecosystems in the world, near or far and will provide help to set up European projects.
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hat are the key figures for the biotech and medtech sectors in Wallonia? With 22,000 hospital beds, the health sector in Wallonia is the European leader in Phase I clinical trials. Over the period 2005-2020, 187 SMEs, which are also members of the BioWin cluster, raised €2.85 billion of private capital for this sector.
To add to the value chains and nurture the healthsector ecosystem, BioWin in close collaboration with AWEX will reinforce its efforts to attract foreign investors. And as part of the smart specialization goal in Europe, BioWin will be prioritising those areas of activity and technology in which Wallonia has a competitive edge internationally.
The health sector in Wallonia is an important source of employment, with 50,000 direct and indirect jobs. It also stands out for its favourable tax environment, financial incentives to support R&D and a unique location for logistics at the heart of Europe.
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Our strategy is to build on the excellence in our 4 strategic domains: (bio)pharmacy (including cell therapy and biomanufacturing), radiation applied to health, medical devices and in vitro diagnostics, and digital health.
Could you tell us about the BioWin’s strategy? BioWin’s role is to accelerate innovation to address the public health challenges of the future and to develop knowledge, employment and the competitiveness of everyone involved in the health-sector ecosystem in Wallonia. The mission of BioWin is to make Wallonia a region that is internationally known for its world-class academic, clinical and industrial research environment in the cluster’s technological domains.
What services does BioWin offer its members? BioWin brings together 90% of the health- biotechnology- and medical-technology–players in Wallonia. The cluster therefore has a clear view of the technology value chains and an in-depth knowledge of the stakeholders in the region. This allows BioWin to offer its members the most appropriate services in terms of R&D, internationalisation, skills development and support for company growth. From early development in R&D to commercialization, BioWin provides support for projects arising from regional and international calls, and one-off assistance to SMEs and start-ups to support their economic development.
BioWin will continue to follow its strategy that was deployed at the outset: supporting the emergence and development of R&D projects; developing talents; integrating companies in international markets; forming and nurturing networks and supporting the growth of companies.
Key figures for the BioWin cluster (2019) - 10 world leaders (Baxter/Baxalta, Cenexi, GSK, IBA, IRE, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Kaneka-Eurogentec, MaSTherCell (Catalent), PolyPeptide Group, UCB and Zoetis) and 187 SMEs; - 7 accredited research centres; - 5 universities with 400 research units, 11,000 researchers and 3 university hospitals; - €2,850 billion accumulated capital raised by BioWin SME members in Wallonia;
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- 16.424 direct jobs for BioWin’s industrial members in Wallonia and 35.000 indirect jobs (2005-2018);
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- 49 R&D projects that have involved 279 partners, developed 69 products and 33 services for a total budget (public and private) of €158 million.
