Belgium
Europe’s Biotech Hotspot
Famous for its chocolate, beer and moules frites, Belgium is also home to some of Europe’s most dynamic Life Science companies and its biotech industry is thriving.
It is attracting not only early-stage Life Science companies but also established biopharma, which collectively in 2016, represented 18% of the total European biotech market¹. Coulter Partners has been privileged to work on over 40 Belgian executive search assignments over the last three years in booming Life Science hubs such as Ghent, Leuven and Mechelen as well as in Brussels. More than half our placements have been at CEO, C-suite, Board and General/Country Manager level across biotech, pharma and medical devices. The attraction of Belgium and the success of its Life Science ecosystem lie in a combination of several favourable factors which have collectively made it a hotbed of talent and leadership expertise.
STRONG INNOVATION
Belgium is categorised as a “strong innovator” by the European Commission according to their 2018 innovation scoreboard and it is listed in the top 15 globally in Bloomberg’s annual Innovation Index². In 2017 €3.5billion was invested in biopharma R&D, a 21.4% increase on 2016³. Ghent, Leuven and Mechelen have emerged as leading hubs, exploiting their proximity to the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), VITO and the research institute, FlandersBio. Brussels, with its three main universities and five university hospitals, has become another epicentre for innovation and development. Accessibility to R&D expertise from these numerous academic centres and specialised research parks has been key in reinforcing Belgium’s strong industry position and the success of its start-ups. Significant scientific collaborations and the successful commercialisation of academic research have built the country a global reputation for excellence. Earlier in 2018 Johnson & Johnson expanded its global innovation incubator project JLABS into Europe, choosing Beerse in Northern Belgium as its home, stating “This unique model will support entrepreneurs in progressing their transformative science through access to state-of-the-art infrastructure, expertise and funding opportunities and all in the knowledge that their ideas can progress with no-strings attached” ⁴.
GLOBAL INVESTMENT
Global investor interest in the country continues to grow, with venture capital funding in Life Science companies increasing 44% between 2015 and YTD 2018⁵. Earlier in 2018, while attending the hugely successful BioEquity 2018 hosted in Ghent, Coulter Partners observed first hand just how attractive Belgium is becoming to venture fund investors. The oversubscribed event saw diverse industry representation and a promising forum amongst dealmakers from across Europe and the US. In 2018 Belgian immune-oncology biotech iTeos Therapeutics raised an impressive €65million, understood to be the largest Series B financing round in Europe year-to-date, and Sanofi acquired the nanobody biotech Ablynx NV for €3.9billion. These, along with success stories such as Galapagos, Promethera, Biocartis, Mithra, Ogeda, and Celyad continue to act as encouraging role models to new investors.
INCENTIVES FOR UPSTARTS & SMES
Belgium has one of the most supportive environments for clinical trials in Europe, boasting one of the fastest clinical approval times in the EU, as well as high clinical trial volumes and a strong presence of CROs. The country has a favourable regulatory framework which together with lower cost locations and several government grants and tax incentives, makes it particularly attractive for Life Science SMEs and start-ups. Non-Belgians moving to the region can also benefit from very advantageous aspects of remuneration.
STRATEGIC LOCATION
Belgium’s direct rail services into Brussels and sophisticated transport connections across Europe have helped its development as a commercial hub. The country offers easy connections with international markets and has excellent infrastructure for product distribution and talent access. In addition to strong local talent pools, Belgium attracts high calibre international talent from many other countries.
COULTER PARTNERS IN BELGIUM
Belgium has become a European epicentre of diverse scientific and commercial leadership, based around its growing Biotech and Life Science clusters. This is illustrated by the variety of Coulter Partners appointments to the biotech, devices and digital health companies there, with roles ranging from the deeply scientific to senior commercial and C-suite, including at CEO and Board level. The richly diverging cultures and ethnicities of Belgium’s two key regions, Flanders and Wallonia, continue to attract executive leadership internationally. The resulting range of nationalities, languages and origins has created a distinctive and diverse business culture in the region.
Notably, 80% of Coulter Partners’ placements to date have re-located from other European countries or from the US.
Coulter Partners is proud to be contributing to Belgium’s continuing success and to showcase a small selection of our work here:
Belgium is a biotech hotspot as it houses all the right ingredients for a successful ecosystem: world renowned academic research centres, a large community of SMEs and last but not least, the top-10 biopharma companies all have key activities in Belgium.
From advances in genomics research to new immune therapies, Belgium has a lively and advancing life sciences scene. We have even seen established companies choose to relocate to Belgium.
Author: Neha Rajdev, Senior Business Intelligence Associate
REFERENCES
- Flanders Investment and Trade
- 2018 Bloomberg Innovation Index
- Pharme.be, l’Association Générale de l’Industrie du Médicament, 2018
- jlabs.jnjinnovation.com
- Pitchbook, August 2018