Today, in parallel with the Bio International Convention in San Fransisco, essenscia / bio.be organizes two company visits in California together with Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health, Maggie De Block. On the one hand, they will visit the US-based Dermira in Menlo Park, who has a partnership with the Belgian UCB to develop a cure for psoriasis. On the other hand, they will pay a visit to JLABS in South San Francisco, an innovation centre from Johnson & Johnson that provides laboratory facilities for promising start-ups in biotech on a flexible basis.
Both visits illustrate the strong link between the Belgian and American pharma and biotechnology. More and more Belgian biotech companies join forces with American partners for R&D and venture capital. American companies account for nearly 10,000 jobs in the Belgian life sciences industry.
Via the seminar “Bridging the North American and Belgian excellence in innovative health” at the Bio International Convention, essenscia / bio.be wishes to highlight the innovative strength of the Belgian biopharma and stimulate international collaborations. The testimonies of Paul Stoffels, Johnson & Johnson CEO and Didier Malherbe, General Manager of UCB Belgium, and case presentations from companies such as Amgen and Celyad are scheduled. This seminar, which will also be attended by De Block, was developed in collaboration with essenscia / bio.be, AWEX, FIT, IBE, BioWin, FlandersBio, Lifetech.brussels and Pharma.be.
