Belgium has a strong tradition in the life sciences, including biotechnology and pharmaceutical activities. Four Belgians have received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology. Today, it has a well structured network of world acclaimed scientists, prominent research institutions and universities.
In Brussels, the presence of 3 main universities and 5 university hospitals, including almost 3,000 researchers in life sciences, has provided a favorable environment for the development of biotech companies.
The University Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) is composed of seven academic departments and institutes including several university hospitals. It also manages industrial zones devoted to research. With its 18,000 students, three Nobel Prizes (Jules Bordet for Medicine in 1919, Albert Claude for Medicine in 1974, and Ilya Prigogine for Chemistry in 1977), and worldwide reputation, ULB has an outstanding status in the academic world. ULB is now the Belgian University with the highest rate of foreign students. They constitute one third of the student population.
Industrial research and development as well as technology transfer represent an increasingly important part of the university's research activities. In the last few years the budget devoted to the co-operation between the university and various industries has tripled. In the heart of Europe, close to the European Community headquarters, ULB occupies a strategic position in the close-knit network of research centers and top industries. 30 percent of its research contracts are undertaken with international partners. To respond to the needs of industry ULB has created its own interfaces and manages scientific zones in Nivelles, Evere and Anderlecht.
The Faculty of Medicine of ULB covers a wide range of fields in the Brussels region such as:
- Molecular Biology
- Cancerology immunology
- Pharmaceutical research
- Public health
Operating with five teaching hospitals : Hospital Erasme, CHU Saint Pierre, CHU Brugmann, Childrens Hospital “Reine Fabiola” and the Institute Jules Bordet – specialised in cancer treatment and research - ULB ensures an outstanding quality of treatment services and teaching programmes.
The dynamic activity of the Faculty of Medicine is a result of joint research undertaken by the universities and Faculties in collaboration with the Belgian and Foreign research infrastructures.
The Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) has two parkland campuses in the Brussels capital region (Etterbeek and Jette) and provides a panoply of teaching areas: 33 first-degree programmes, 42 programmes leading to a second degree and 58 postgraduate specialisations, many of them taught in English. The most important research fields at VUB are :
- Molecular biology
- Food technology
- Human and animal Health
- Biological & Biotechnological Sciences
- Applied Plant Biology & Nature Management
Amongst the different activities of University Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL), research is one of the pillars, with some 200 work groups devoted to it. Several centres of excellence have an international reputation, such as the International Institute of Cellular and Molecular Pathology (ICP) founded by Professor Christian de Duve, winner of the Nobel prize for medicine, and the Centre for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE) created by Professor Jacques Drèze. A large science park on the edge of the University is home to high technology companies wishing to take advantage of the University's infrastructure.
Reputed for its scientific level in biotechnology, the university hosts in its Brussels campus one of the two hospitals of UCL, the Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, which is one of the biggest in the Brussels Region.
The main topics involving the UCL research are:
- Bioengineering
- Microbiology
- Cell biology : animal and plants
- Immunology
- Molecular biology
- Pharmacology & pharmacy
The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, with a branch in Brussels, is located within the Institute of Cellular Pathology (ICP) on the biomedical campus of the University of Louvain la Neuve. This institute is renowned for its research in cancer immunology and cancer genetics.
Next to the universities, the Campus of Ceria – UBT ( Center for Education and research in Food and Chemical – Biotechnology Unit) plays a major role in the development, research and education in biochemistry, microbiology, food technology and bioprocess.
Operating in the campus of CERIA, the Meurice Institute is well reputed for the development of privileged relations with the industrial world through R&D programs and for its research teams in microbiology, beer production, food technology, enzyme and chemical catalysis and industrial process.
In the last years, co-operation between universities and industry has resulted in the success of several start-up firms, as well as the commercialisation of academic research.
The Region has also benefited from early investments in biotechnology, owing to the strong local presence of pharmaceutical companies, which were initially the main source of industrial funding.
Comparative figures
| Year 2007 |
Europe (25) |
Belgium |
Ratio |
| Inhabitants |
455 millions |
10 millions |
2 % |
| Biotech companies |
1734 |
97 |
6 % |
| Biotech employment |
61.000 |
7160 |
11 % |
| Biotech revenues (Eur) |
5.4 billions |
0.23 billion |
4 % |
| Fund raised for biotech (Eur) |
1.2 billions |
92.5 billion |
8 % |
| Biotech R&D (Eur) |
4.5 billions |
0.41 billion |
9 % |
For more information on biopharma in Brussels, you may consult the following link.
Pharmaceutical Research
The pharmaceutical sector is a priority in the Brussels region. The presence of the two major worldwide groups in the capital testifies to the importance and development of this sector in the region.
Brussels plays a unique role in the business activities of the Solvay group. Solvay Pharmaceuticals, member of the Solvay group is located in Brussels area and the decision-making centre of Solvay is also in Belgium, just like the core shareholders of the company. Its research and development activities are concentrated onto in the fields of psychiatry, gastroenterology, cardiology and hormone replacements.
The UCB Group has also its headquarters in Brussels. UCB activities are focused on innovative solutions for human healthcare through its Pharma division, as well as technically innovative products for surface application through its Surface Specialties division. UCB Pharma's research activities are focused in the fields of neurology, allergy and respiratory disease, inflammation and oncology.
Financing young companies
While the more mature companies finance their activities by selling their own products and by going public, the young biotech companies generally obtain financing in their early years through seed money funds, venture capital and/or financial institutions.
The Brussels regional authorities have created efficient financial mechanisms to support the scientific research and technological development of young biotech companies. Among them, the Brussels Regional Investment Agency (SRIB), Business Angels Connect and the Participation Fund offer different possibilities of funding start ups and fast growing companies.
Dedicated infrastructures
Incubators with laboratory infrastructures are probably the key element for the success of a biotech start-up after the conception and business plan stage. Support to bioincubators is currently a priority for the Brussels regional authorities.
For instance, the Erasmus European Business and Innovation Centre (EEBIC), created in partnership with the Free University of Brussels (ULB), is housing and providing managerial support to young companies in the biotech sector.
Expertise in European Research Programs
In 1998, European governments, meeting in Lisbon, signed the Lisbon Protocol. Its goal is to make Europe the most competitive knowledge based economy by 2010. Life Sciences and biotechnologies were identified as a priority sector.
Following the “Lisbon Agenda”, the European Commission launched in 2000 a new “Strategy for Life Sciences and Biotechnologies”, which aims at supporting the development of new structures (incubators, laboratories) as well as creating a consistent and transparent regulatory framework for R&D in Europe.
The financial tool the EC created to support SME’s, universities and research institutes, is the Framework Program.
As member of the "Enterprise Europe network" , the Brussels Enterprise Agency has been mandated by the EC to provide information and individual assistance to companies who wish to participate in R&D European projects.
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