acroSS borderS By Daniela Fisher
On the Map Belgium is ready to be a leader in the life sciences
Horizon 2020 Horizon 2020 is the largest European Union Research and Innovation program ever undertaken • It has close to €80 billion of funding allocated for the next seven years (2014-2020), along with private and public investment that the initial funding will attract • The project is aimed at enhancing Europe’s knowledge-based economy, boosting innovation and helping the public and private sectors better work together • It is also meant to improve EU international research collaboration. As such, there are opportunities for global participation. Projects from across Europe can be submitted to receive funding • Two-year work programs announce the specific areas that will be funded by Horizon 2020 • Horizon 2020 is open to participation by researchers from all over the world -You can find out more here: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/ horizon2020/
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’m standing at a bridge in the very picturesque city of Ghent, Belgium, looking down at the dark waters of the canal that reflect the lights of the buildings that sit beside it. Looking through a haze of rain, I see a row of people sitting by the canal, drinking wine, laughing and talking. It’s a mix of locals, a few daring tourists, but mostly it’s students. Ghent is a university town afterall, that powers one of the leading centres for biotechnology in Belgium. As I watch the scene unfold below me, it’s easy to see why Belgium is an exciting place for the life sciences. With such a vibrant student base, it’s clear that Ghent is an innovative hub in the heart of Belgium. When it comes to the life sciences, there are a lot of good things going on in the country – and it’s not just the vibrancy of the student base, although that is key. Altogether, there are more than 255 life science companies active in the region, working closely with universities, research institutes and hospitals. Traditionally known for its strength in ag-biotech and pharmaceuticals,
the country has expanded its reach into new sectors. For a relatively small country, it possesses one of the larger presences in the European biotech market. Its home to a number of leading life science companies, including CropDesign, Galapagos, Tigenix and Janssen. On the IPO side, Belgium has had eight companies go public from 2005 to 2014, raising more than €$1 billion to date on the stock market. According to FlandersBio, the leading life science organization for the northern Flanders region of Belgium, the total annual revenue of the life sciences in Flanders is approximately €$1.9 billion. The life sciences sector in the region employs over 10,000 employees in life sciences and is responsible for close to 20 per cent of R&D expenditure in Flanders. And while known on the European level for being a strong player in the life sciences, Belgium is perhaps not as well-known on the international scale. For FlandersBio managing director Henk Joos, one of his goals is to promote the region more internation-
Biotechnology Focus / August/September 2014
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