Today, the life sciences sector, both across Wallonia and in Brussels, is admired worldwide. In Belgium, key players have decided to join forces to strengthen it further, with BioWin and MEDVIA having signed the first strategic collaboration between innovation clusters in the health sector across Wallonia and Flanders.
"We can leverage our strengths to strengthen Belgium’s position as a major life sciences hub in Europe and have a better impact internationally to bring the best innovative treatments to the largest number of patients possible", said Sylvie Ponchaut , BioWin Managing Director, at the signing. The agreement covers several key areas of expertise: Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)/BioProduction, MedTech/HealthTech, Research and Innovation and more.
The BioWin and MEDVIA clusters began collaborating in 2023, co-hosting several major conferences including “Science for Health”, supported by the HST Group (Health, Science and Technology Group), which brings together Pfizer , UCB , GSK and Janssen Inc. , and the first “HealthTech Investor Summit” was held in Bruges, where 75 entrepreneurs met with more than 60 investors.
International proximity
Recently, Gembloux has become the hub for GSK’s global vaccine distribution by opening a new vaccine and pharmaceutical storage facility. Emmanuel Amory , Managing Director of GSK Belgium, recalled on this occasion that he wants to «continue working together every day to strengthen our competitiveness». He pinpointed a significant figure: “Approximately 40% of the world’s children receive a GSK vaccine each year.” Wallonia excels in the production of vaccines and research is focused on adjuvants, immunology and messenger RNA, with active production targeting various diseases.
Research and Development
Today, one of the most well-known companies is undoubtedly iTeos Therapeutics . Recently, the company released very encouraging clinical data on its lung cancer treatment. Another society, in this theme, continues its development: OncoDNA. Among the latest advances, the OncoDEEPR kit analysis process provides clinical information, helping laboratories to complete genomic profiles of solid tumors using MGI sequencers (a company that creates core tools and technologies that drive innovation in life sciences), which uses DNBSEQTM leading technology. “The partnership with MGI marks an important step in our mission to make precision oncology accessible to all,” says Jean-Pol Detiffe , founder of OncoDNA.
The future: personalized medicine
Research remains a priority, as shown by the work of Prof. François Fuks , professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the Université Libre de Bruxelles ( Université libre de Bruxelles ). "The lab I lead focuses on epigenetics in cancer. Our recent discoveries have revealed new mechanisms for the development of leukaemia. We have thus identified a new unsuspected mode of regulation of gene expression through epigenetics. This research opens up innovative perspectives for the diagnosis and treatment of leukaemia.”
Other projects are underway, such as the NucleoGlio project, which is the result of a consortium between the coordinating company Belgian Volition SA, in collaboration with another company, QUALIblood SA and the Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences (NARILIS) and IREC UCLouvain institutes. Their project aims to explore liquid biopsy to detect glioblastomas via circulating nucleosomes and their epigenetic changes, improving diagnosis and treatment. Glioblastomas are very aggressive forms of brain cancer that pose a major clinical challenge, especially when it comes to post-surgical resection relapses.
Another example is the Gloria (Global Rapid and Innovative DNA Analysis) project, which is a consortium between the coordinating company Eonix , in partnership with two other companies, Comunicare Solutions and KEDROZ , and Université catholique de Louvain and UMONS universities. This project aims to develop a secure platform for citizens to store their digital DNA, paving the way for advanced analyses of complex common diseases and rare diseases. The intention is to develop patient-centred solutions for the benefit of personalised medicine.
Artificial intelligence is also at the heart of Walloon innovations in life sciences. There are many examples, including the SPUTUMAI project, which aims to develop an AI tool for analyzing microscopic slides of sputum from patients with severe asthma, and record the data relating to the profile of this inflammation in a computerized patient file, adapted to the reality of this pathology. Cytomine , ZORGI , University of Liège and the ULB are a consortium that aims to save clinicians time and precision in diagnosis and pathology monitoring, but also to prescribe personalized treatment for asthmatic patients as part of their clinical routine.
Among the latest developments, Gunther Vanwezer , CEO of Vésale Bioscience, mentions the development of phages in healthcare. The specialist company intends, through phagotherapy, to combat resistant bacteria: "Our goal is not to replace antibiotics. The patients we want to treat are people for whom there is no solution. The objective of our latest advances is to treat a first patient at the end of 2025 - beginning of January 2026. We will start with patients in Belgium, France and Germany. We will offer a personalized phage therapy platform to hospitals in targeted countries. We have developed a library of about thirty therapeutic phages. Everything begins with a diagnostic test that will help to know which phage can act for such an infection. We focus on four bacteria. These four bacteria are responsible for 70-80% of hospital infections. Our intention is to develop, in the countries mentioned, collaborations with doctors and hospital pharmacists, in order to offer, in tomorrow’s health, several alternatives to the care staff and patients concerned.”
Training and space to think about investment
However, these successes cannot hide a problem: the lack of skilled labour. To solve this challenge, the authorities and the industrial world are multiplying the projects. The FOREM , the Centre de compétence a Seneffe, the FUNOC and the Institut d'enseignement technique supérieur de Promotion sociale in Charleroi have launched the project «Jump to pharma», which allows long-term and unqualified job seekers to enter the biopharma sector. Companies are also involved in the process: GSK, Takeda and UCB to offer visits to their facilities for trainees.
In addition to training, companies and authorities want to be able to welcome new businesses. After the construction of the LégiaPark at CHC in Liège, the investment fund Noshaq intends to build a Giga Park at CHU de Liège. Initiatives are also taking place in Namur, Marche and Charleroi with the BioPark and especially the EU Biotech Campus . A great addition according to Dominique Demonte , CEO of the Biopark: "We receive a lot of foreign delegations who come to learn from our model and more and more interest marks of foreign companies who want to settle in the heart of our ecosystem".
International development
This dynamism is not surprising to Hugues Bultot , CEO of UNIVERCELLS , who remains committed to its roots in Wallonia while pursuing an important international development, with partnerships with the Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., Afrigen or the Institut Pasteur .
"Exothera , a CDMO subsidiary of Univercells, has already produced for more than 30 European or American projects," he says." Indeed, as a GMP certified CDMO, Exothera, located in Jumet, offers multiple production platforms to meet the needs of its customers. The optimization of production processes for viral vectors in gene therapy or viral vaccines is essential to ensure product quality, batch-to-batch reproducibility and reduced production costs. Exothera has a standardized, robust and reproducible process for making mRNA. We have developed a specific offer for personalized cancer treatment with RNA messenger strategies. The objective of this approach is to reduce production costs so that as many people as possible, wherever they are, can benefit from it. This makes it possible to produce close to hospitals, for example for direct delivery to patients.”
With this in mind, led by Jose Castillo, Quantoom Biosciences, the subsidiary of Univercells specialized in the development of production technologies related to mRNA, participated in the economic mission led by Princess Astrid in Brazil (end of November 2024). Quantoom Biosciences' platform, called NtensifyR, enables the production of batches of mRNA at lower cost and more efficiently on a large scale. "For the past three years, we have been working on RNA messenger. With the latter, in addition to vaccines, we see developments to counter rare diseases, cancers and autoimmune diseases among others,” adds Hugues Bultot.
“Constantly evolving your company to stay ahead of the curve”, Paul J. Maes, CEO of Aquilon Pharma, is always responding to this type of challenge. The Liège company, which has worked on the development of a new and more effective device for the treatment of asthma and other lung diseases, is continuing its research work. "Currently, he continues, we have evolved our business model according to customers: we do B to B. The technology in Wallonia remains at the forefront, but we must find the right vectors to use it". While research on its products continues, Aquilon has received four or five proposals for ongoing contracts, including two that are in the process of being finalized.
The opportunities are varied and numerous in this region rich of its researchers, entrepreneurs, skilled workers and knowledge...
Article written by Vincent Liévin for W+B Magazine n°166.
Cover image credit: GSK Belgique, spécialiste dans la production de vaccins © GSK Belgique