As 2025 comes peeking around the corner, we invite you to look back with us at some of the most exciting science topics we covered this year. From advances in women’s health, organoids, and organ-on-a-chip models to the challenges of data science and innovations in animal science and sustainable biotech; let us walk you through the Benelux life sciences landscape of 2024 as we reflect on the vast amount of knowledge and know-how characteristic to this region.
Ghent, Belgium, 4 December 2024 – European health technology (HealthTech) is at a critical crossroad. Despite groundbreaking research, a thriving startup scene and ambitious talent, the sector struggles to translate innovation into actionable impact. Challenges such as regulatory restrictions, fragmented markets, and funding gaps are slowing progress, while the clock is ticking and other regions of the world are surging ahead.
Ghent, Belgium, 4 December 2024 - At MEDVIA, we see the future of HealthTech filled with potential – a future powered by the intersection of health and technology. This is where breakthroughs in healthtech, medtech, AI and digital solutions promise to transform care delivery. It’s where patients have a voice, hospitals and caregivers have access to cutting-edge innovations, and technology like AI is making personalized medicine a reality. That future isn’t distant; it’s already here.
A world where we can 3D bioprint organs on demand is creeping ever closer to clinical reality, thanks to Belgian efforts to standardize the biomaterials necessary. Achieving this will have profound consequences for organ transplants, disease modeling, tissue engineering, personalized medicine, and drug discovery. But bioprinting success depends on multidisciplinary collaborations between material scientists, hardware manufacturers, clinicians, and other partners. Recently, these collaborations have reached the stratosphere, with a project to study cardiovascular aging with a heart-on-a-chip… in space!
Cervical cancer is largely curable if detected early enough and yet it remains a leading cause of death in women globally. Why? Although researchers recently made the biggest improvement in cervical cancer treatment in more than 20 years, cutting the risk of death by over 40%, effective and inclusive screening remains crucial for early detection and treatment. However, recent research from Belgium suggests that certain populations of vulnerable women or those with a migration background are falling through the cervical cancer screening cracks.
Would you like the opportunity to explore your genetic predispositions? Genetic testing can be empowering, helping you to make informed decisions about your healthcare. But using DNA analysis to diagnose and predict certain health conditions calls for trained genetic professionals to explain complex results, answer lingering questions and provide emotional support to people, especially when they’re receiving unexpected news. Genetic counselors are an important link in this chain, but their crucial healthcare role is yet to be recognized in Belgium.
ATMPs (advanced therapy medicinal products) are expected to reach a global value of 80 billion euro in 2032. While it can be tempting to try to go it alone, the fastest and most intelligent way to advance is by advancing together. The event, Advanced Therapies in Belgium, presents such an occasion, offering a space for innovative ideas and featuring speakers from the forefront of the Belgian and international ATMP innovation.
Even ‘safe’ levels of antibiotics in food might fuel the next generation of superbugs.
Even tiny traces of antibiotics in the meat and fish we eat could contribute to antibiotic resistance. According to research by the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp, as little as one tenth of the amount of antibiotics currently regarded as ‘safe’ by regulators is enough to trigger resistance in bacteria. Now, the scientists are expanding their research, initially performed on wax moth larvae, to mice and humans.
As 2025 comes peeking around the corner, we invite you to look back with us at some of the most exciting science topics we covered this year. From advances in women’s health, organoids, and organ-on-a-chip models to the challenges of data science and innovations in animal science and sustainable biotech; let us walk you through the Benelux life sciences landscape of 2024 as we reflect on the vast amount of knowledge and know-how characteristic to this region.
Ghent, Belgium, 4 December 2024 – European health technology (HealthTech) is at a critical crossroad. Despite groundbreaking research, a thriving startup scene and ambitious talent, the sector struggles to translate innovation into actionable impact. Challenges such as regulatory restrictions, fragmented markets, and funding gaps are slowing progress, while the clock is ticking and other regions of the world are surging ahead.
Ghent, Belgium, 4 December 2024 - At MEDVIA, we see the future of HealthTech filled with potential – a future powered by the intersection of health and technology. This is where breakthroughs in healthtech, medtech, AI and digital solutions promise to transform care delivery. It’s where patients have a voice, hospitals and caregivers have access to cutting-edge innovations, and technology like AI is making personalized medicine a reality. That future isn’t distant; it’s already here.
A world where we can 3D bioprint organs on demand is creeping ever closer to clinical reality, thanks to Belgian efforts to standardize the biomaterials necessary. Achieving this will have profound consequences for organ transplants, disease modeling, tissue engineering, personalized medicine, and drug discovery. But bioprinting success depends on multidisciplinary collaborations between material scientists, hardware manufacturers, clinicians, and other partners. Recently, these collaborations have reached the stratosphere, with a project to study cardiovascular aging with a heart-on-a-chip… in space!
Cervical cancer is largely curable if detected early enough and yet it remains a leading cause of death in women globally. Why? Although researchers recently made the biggest improvement in cervical cancer treatment in more than 20 years, cutting the risk of death by over 40%, effective and inclusive screening remains crucial for early detection and treatment. However, recent research from Belgium suggests that certain populations of vulnerable women or those with a migration background are falling through the cervical cancer screening cracks.
Would you like the opportunity to explore your genetic predispositions? Genetic testing can be empowering, helping you to make informed decisions about your healthcare. But using DNA analysis to diagnose and predict certain health conditions calls for trained genetic professionals to explain complex results, answer lingering questions and provide emotional support to people, especially when they’re receiving unexpected news. Genetic counselors are an important link in this chain, but their crucial healthcare role is yet to be recognized in Belgium.
ATMPs (advanced therapy medicinal products) are expected to reach a global value of 80 billion euro in 2032. While it can be tempting to try to go it alone, the fastest and most intelligent way to advance is by advancing together. The event, Advanced Therapies in Belgium, presents such an occasion, offering a space for innovative ideas and featuring speakers from the forefront of the Belgian and international ATMP innovation.
Even ‘safe’ levels of antibiotics in food might fuel the next generation of superbugs.
Even tiny traces of antibiotics in the meat and fish we eat could contribute to antibiotic resistance. According to research by the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp, as little as one tenth of the amount of antibiotics currently regarded as ‘safe’ by regulators is enough to trigger resistance in bacteria. Now, the scientists are expanding their research, initially performed on wax moth larvae, to mice and humans.