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Biomedical/pharma

Biomedical/pharma, Immunology

Called to Science with Bart Lambrecht: From medicine to finding focus in fly fishing

VIB’s podcast Called to Science is back for a second season—a series where science journalist Brad Van Paridon sits with researchers to go beyond the science: exploring the passion, setbacks, and big questions that motivate them. In this episode, Bart Lambrecht—director of the VIB Center for Inflammation Research and a practicing physician at Ghent University Hospital—dives into the overlaps between treating patients, running a lab, and the fascination that drives him forward.

Science for Health 2025: How to anchor innovation in Belgium?

Belgium puts a lot of resources into research and innovation, supporting the creation of spinouts and startups with brilliant potential health solutions. But as they grow, most of those companies eventually hit a point where local support isn’t enough—they have to look beyond Europe for their manufacturing, clinical trials, and funding needs. How can Belgium close this gap so companies can stay and thrive in Europe?

Trio of scientists win Nobel Prize for immune system regulation

Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 for their groundbreaking discoveries in peripheral immune tolerance—how the immune system uses regulatory T cells to prevent other immune cells from attacking our own body. Their work laid the foundation for a new field of research and spurred the development of treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Germany’s Biotech Sector: Time to Wake the Sleeping Giant

Germany has long been considered a “sleeping giant” in European biotech—full of promise, but slow to rise. The country boasts world-class research institutions, a strong industrial base, and a rich pool of scientific talent. Yet for years, Germany has lagged behind smaller neighbors like Belgium, Denmark, and Switzerland when it comes to biotech start-up activity, early-stage investment, and company creation. But now, a shift may be underway—what will it take for the German giant to stir?

Safer drugs through smarter governance: How to strengthen global pharmacovigilance

Pharmacovigilance rarely makes headlines—until something goes wrong. A missed signal or a lack of coordination can have serious consequences when dealing with drugs. In today’s globalized biopharma landscape, pharmacovigilance isn’t just a box to tick—it’s a critical safeguard for both companies and the patients they serve. So how can companies improve their project governance to keep everyone safe?

Science for Health 2025: Stronger Regions, Greater Impact

Belgium’s flagship “biology meets technology” conference returns to Brussels this fall with a clear message: collaboration is key to keeping Europe at the front of health innovation. On 4 November 2025, Science for Health will explore how Belgium’s regional strengths and synergies can be combined to accelerate ATMP and new modalities—such as radioligand therapies and digital health solutions—to reinforce the country's global position in biotech and healthtech.

ATMPs & Nuclear Medicine: Wallonia’s strengths on display with BioWin on Tour

Buses full of innovators, lab doors wide open and conversations to spark collaboration—that was the vibe for BioWin on Tour on 24 September 2025, co-organized with AWEX. It was a whirlwind visit, with fifty international delegates from nine countries visiting two of Wallonia’s flagship science hubs—LégiaPark and BioPark Charleroi—discovering the region’s twin strengths of ATMPs and nuclear medicine.

The benefits of One Health in Flanders

Biovia is Europe’s first industry-led One Health innovation cluster—uniting medical biotech, medtech, digital health, agtech and industrial biotech to advance human and planetary health. Katrien Lorré explains how this unified approach benefits companies by unlocking opportunities and fostering a better environment for health innovation.

From idea to patient: how QbD Group empowers life sciences across Europe

Bringing a life science innovation to market is a complex journey, one that requires more than just scientific expertise. It involves working through a demanding regulatory landscape, managing clinical trials, ensuring operational compliance, and maintaining a continuous focus on quality. BioVox’s partner the QbD Group understands these challenges firsthand, because they’ve been guiding life science companies towards success for over a decade.

From startup survivor to sector leader: MRM Health CEO’s advice for fellow entrepreneurs at BioWin Days

In the space of just a few years, MRM Health has transformed from a challenger in the emerging microbiome therapeutics field to a global forerunner. CEO Sam Possemiers has steered the Belgian company through the rollercoaster of scientific uncertainty and investor skepticism to reach what he calls the “slope of enlightenment.” Now, with late-stage clinical trials ahead and a new important funding round within reach, Possemiers is sharing his lessons-learned with other biotech CEOs.

A frozen conveyor belt: Solutions for the funding bottleneck in European biotech

European biotech is braving another turbulent cycle. IPOs remain scarce, M&A sluggish, and the lack of liquidity is leaving both innovators and Venture Capitalists struggling to raise funds. But new solutions—including stronger secondary markets—could help restore momentum and build a more resilient, thriving European ecosystem.

Belgian research pushes the boundaries of coronavirus treatment to prevent the next pandemic

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) SARS-CoV-2 is experiencing a resurgence, with the risk of future outbreaks from emerging variants remaining substantial. To stay ahead of the curve, continued investment in both preventative measures and novel therapies is vital. Groundbreaking Belgian research is leading the way with high-potential compounds targeting SARS-CoV-2, offering a promising new avenue for treatment and pandemic preparedness.

How the ‘Google Maps’ of human cells could change the future of globally inclusive medicine

The Human Cell Atlas is an international effort to create a map of the 37 trillion cells of the healthy human body cell by cell, tissue by tissue. If that sounds like an overwhelming task, you’d be right… But with researchers now leveraging high-throughput single-cell and spatial transcriptomic technologies to investigate cells from diverse human populations, we’re creeping ever closer to our destination and the ‘cell nav’ of the future. Read on to find out where we are and where we’re heading on our journey on one of the most transformative scientific endeavors since the complete sequencing of the human genome. Thankfully, visions like One Health aim to lead multiple sectors, disciplines, and communities in the right direction to find sustainable non-human-centric solutions to these challenges. Let’s take a look at what One Health is and how the EU and Belgium are playing their part.

Biovia: the new health innovation cluster for human and planetary health

A fresh chapter in Flemish healthtech and life sciences has begun with the launch of Biovia: the health innovation cluster resulting from the merger of flanders.bio and MEDVIA. Unveiled at Knowledge for Growth, the flagship annual conference of the Flemish life sciences sector, this new industry-driven organization brings more than 450 members together in one unified ecosystem – cultivating connections and forging a path to a healthier future for people and planet.

Welcome to the Dark Genome: The next untapped frontier of medicine

The vast majority of drug development focuses on the two percent of the human genome that codes for proteins. While functional proteins are obvious low-hanging fruits for therapeutics, an untapped world of potent drug targets patiently waits in the shadows. Now, researchers and pharmaceutical companies from Belgium and beyond are gradually unraveling the secrets of the dark genome to find novel medicines for a wide range of disorders, including cancer, neurodegeneration, and obesity.