Invest In Brussels - English

In Brussels, the presence of 3 main universities and 5 university hospitals, including almost 3,000 researchers in life sciences, has provided a favourable environment for the development of biotech companies. Indeed, over the past several 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.

University Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

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 Prize winners (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 percentage of foreign students. They constitute one-third of the student body.

Industrial Research & 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 cooperation between the university and various industries has tripled. Located in the heart of Europe, close to the institutions of the European Union, ULB occupies a strategic position in the close-knit network of research centres and top industries. Thirty percent of its research contracts are undertaken with international partners. To better respond to the needs of industry ULB has created its own contact points and manages scientific zones in Nivelles, Evere and Anderlecht.

The Faculty of Medicine of ULB covers a wide range of fields such as:

• Molecular Biology
• Oncology
• Immunology
• Pharmaceutical research
• Public health

Operating with five teaching hospitals: Hospital Erasme, CHU Saint Pierre, CHU Brugmann, Children’s Hospital 'Reine Fabiola' and the Institute Jules Bordet - specialised in cancer treatment and research - ULB offers 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 universities and faculties in collaboration with Belgian and Foreign research institutions.

Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB)

The Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) has two wooded campuses in the Brussels-Capital region (Etterbeek and Jette) and provides a diverse curriculum: 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 & Animal Health
• Biological & Biotechnological Sciences
• Applied Plant Biology & Nature Management

University Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL)

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 focus areas of UCL research are:

• Bioengineering
• Microbiology
• Cell Biology (animal and plant)
• Immunology
• Molecular Biology
• Pharmacology & Pharmacy

Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research

The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, with a branch in Brussels, is located within the De Duve Institute 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 university, the Campus of Ceria - UBT (Centre for Education and research in Food and Chemical - Biotechnology Unit) plays a major role in development, research and education in biochemistry, microbiology, food technology and bioprocess. 

Operating on the campus of CERIA, the Meurice Institute is well reputed for the development of privileged relations with the industrial world through R&D programmes and for its research teams in microbiology, beer production, food technology, enzyme and chemical catalysis and industrial processes.

Belgium has a long tradition in healthcare, including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Today, the country is known for its well-developed network of world renowned scientists, prominent research institutions, universities as well as some of the world’s leading companies in the sector such as Glaxo Smith Kline Biologicals, UCB, Johnson & Johnson, and many more.

In Brussels, healthcare sector activity represents an important part of Belgium’s participation in the global economy. The dynamism of the Brussels healthcare sector results from a close collaboration between universities and the industry as well as the support of the regional authorities. The region draws on three strengths:

• The presence of 3 main universities within in a relatively small radius and a network of hospitals linked with these universities provide a favourable environment for the support of innovative, hi-tech activities and for the development of healthcare activities.
• Some 6,000 lecturers and researchers make Brussels a prestigious centre for research. Indeed, universities have become key vehicles for technology transfer.
• In total, the Brussels-Capital Region comprises approximately 300 companies active in the healthcare sector: 65% in medical devices and 36% in BioPharma.

Medical technologies

The Belgian market has considerable investments in R&D activity as well as a strong network of innovative SMEs active in the medical technology industry.

Furthermore, the country is served by a network of experienced local distributors and by the manufacturing and sales subsidiaries of multinational groups. Various international companies use Belgium as a distribution centre to re-export to other parts of Europe.

Brussels alone comprises approximately 200 companies active in medical devices. Among these, 30% are active in R&D or production or both. Telemedicine & Diagnostic (16%), Electro-medical (14%), Equipment (11%), Single-Use (11%) and Orthopaedic (10%) are the most represented sub-sectors in which these Brussels companies are active.

In the field of medical diagnosis technologies, the Brussels-Capital Region is host to several companies of various size that are active in the production or distribution of machines such as ECG, spyrometry, or mammography, or in the development of software designed for the transfer or management of medical information.

Following European trends and the innovative characteristics of the sector, the subsector Diagnostic and Telemedicine is our core target. With 21 companies involved in Diagnostic & Telemedicine, the Brussels-Capital Region has developed a very attractive and emerging sector in Telediagnosis.

Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals

In terms of innovation and biotechnology industry development, Belgium is the best performing member country of the OECD. Belgium is the 2^nd largest pharmaceutical export country in the world and has the largest number of medicines in development in the world per capita.

Brussels has the highest number of phase 1 clinical trials in the EU per capita.

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.

The pharmaceutical sector is a priority in the Brussels region. The presence in the capital of the two worldwide market leaders testifies to the importance and development of this sector in the region. The UCB Group has 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 on the fields of neurology, allergy and respiratory disease, inflammation and oncology.

Biotechnology

Global revenues in the biotechnology sector for the publicly traded companies were 89.7 billion dollars in 2008. This underscores the emergence and importance of this sector throughout the world. In 2008, there were 4,717 companies in the biotechnology industry worldwide. The United States accounted for 1,754 companies and employed 190,400 people compared to 1,836 companies and employment of about 85,612 in Europe.

In Belgium, there were 145 biotech companies in 2006. In 2006, Belgium was the 6^th country in terms of biotech R&D expenditure with about USD 574 million, which represents 13% of total business expenditure. The Belgian biotech R&D firms employed 17,208 people with 5,608 employees dedicated to R&D.

Pharmaceuticals

In 2008, the global pharmaceutical market was USD 773 billion and posted growth of 4.8%. The European market was about USD 247.5 billion with growth of 5.8% while the US accounted for about USD 311.8 billion with 1.4% growth.

The Belgian pharmaceutical market was estimated at €3.9 billion in 2007 with an annual growth of 5.8%. In 2007, Belgian pharmaceutical R&D expenditure represented 6.2% or about €1 billion of total European spending on pharmaceutical R&D. Moreover, employment in the pharmaceutical sector in 2007 was about 29,400 people, and 5,600 people worked in the R&D field. Pharmaceutical employment registered an average annual growth of 3.7% from 1995.

The total value of production in the Belgium pharma sector in 2007 was approximately €5.22 billion and exports exceeded €34.6 billion. Investment amounted to approximately €631 million.

Belgium has one of the most supportive environments for clinical trials in Europe:

• Third EU country in clinical trials volume.
• First Member State to implement the European Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC: Belgian law of May 7, 2004.
• Accelerated start of new studies.

Favourable tax and regulatory environment

Brussels has the lowest European tax rate on revenues from patent income (6.8%) and offers a 65% payroll tax deduction for company researchers (see 'Tax incentives - Patent income deduction'). It also offers a substantial R&D investment deduction.

The regulatory and political environment for healthcare is also favourable in Belgium. The country offers the fastest approval for phase I clinical trials in Europe (2 weeks). It has also established a new Federal Agency for Medicines and Health. The development of cluster strategies has the full support of public authorities. These strategies aim to bring together universities, companies and research centres and enhance regional and transnational partnerships.

Financing start-up companies

While the more mature companies finance their activities by selling their own products and by going public, biotech start-up companies generally obtain financing in their early years in the form of seed capital, venture capital and/or loans from 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 bio-incubators 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 early stage companies in the biotech sector.

Expertise in European research programmes

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, including biotechnology, 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 infrastructure (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 SMEs, universities and research institutes, is the Framework Programme.

As member of the Enterprise Europe network, and National Contact Point for Framework Progammes, the Brussels Enterprise Agency has been mandated by the EC to provide information and individual assistance to companies that wish to develop international partnerships, as well as participate, in European R&D projects.

Health Business Unit of the Brussels Enterprise Agency

The Brussels Enterprise Agency (BEA) has developed a cluster strategy, based around 3 axes:

• Communication.
• Internationalization.
• Projects & Synergies for the two clusters in Brussels: Bio&Pharma and Diagnostic & Telemedicine.

BEA also provides a wide range of services to companies in the healthcare industry, including:

• Identification of technology needs, technological and commercial validation of projects.
• Analysis of business plans.
• Search for financing.
• Promotion of transnational partnerships.
• Search for strategic information.
• Assistance and guidance to key sources of technological expertise.
• Organisation of technology and business partnering events.

www.biopharmainbrussels.com