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Discovery and research, Finance and Investment, Technology and digital innovation

ONTOFORCE and Rancho Biosciences Collaborate to Leverage High-Quality Data for Target Identification

Ghent, Belgium, 15 January 2025 – ONTOFORCE, a leader in semantic technology for life sciences, headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, and Rancho Biosciences, the leading data science services company headquartered in San Diego, California, have announced a joint collaboration. This partnership aims to transform high quality data-driven research and drug development, providing scientists with unparalleled insights that drive discovery and innovation in the life sciences.

Galapagos to Unlock Shareholder Value by Declaring its Intent to Separate into Two Publicly Traded Entities 

Galapagos intends to create a new company with approximately €2.45 billion in cash dedicated to building a pipeline of innovative medicines through transformational transactions. Galapagos will gain full global development and commercialization rights to its pipeline, focusing on accelerating cell therapies and building a global, decentralized manufacturing network. Galapagos to implement a strategic reorganization to position the Company for long-term growth and cell therapy leadership in oncology.

What a year…looking back at Benelux biotech in 2024 

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.

miDiagnostics Secures €30 Million Series D Funding Round Led by Thermo Fisher Scientific to Advance an Innovative Sterility Test and Other Quality Control Tests for use in the BioPharma Industry.

Leuven, Belgium – December 4th, 2024 – miDiagnostics is pleased to announce the completion of a €30 million Series D funding round, led by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science. This investment will accelerate the development of a groundbreaking sterility test for batch release and related quality control tests for the BioPharma Industry, utilizing miDiagnostics’ proprietary qPCR technology.

Refoxy Pharmaceuticals raises €9.1 million to progress its novel FOXO3 therapeutics for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Investment led by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, with the participation of new and existing investors, including Apollo Health Ventures, NRW.Venture, and HTGF. ● New financing will accelerate preclinical development of Refoxy’s lead program in IPF as well as the expansion of its platform to additional age-related indications.

QbD Group announces acquisition of SciencePharma, strengthening global regulatory and quality expertise

Antwerp, Belgium / Warsaw, Poland – December 4, 2024 – QbD Group and SciencePharma have reached an agreement for QbD Group to acquire SciencePharma. The deal is expected to close by early 2025, pending antitrust clearance.

More good drugs than ever: a boon for society but a challenge for company coffers

In recent decades, the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors have experienced unprecedented progress, reshaping patient care through the introduction of cutting-edge therapies. A stream of novel drugs has emerged at an increasingly rapid pace, for conditions lacking approved treatments or as improved treatments where existing drugs fell short in terms of efficacy, safety, or convenience. But is the health innovation industry falling victim to its own burgeoning success?

4Tissue Raises €2M to Advance Groundbreaking Breast Tissue Replacement Technology

Ghent, October 23, 2024 — 4Tissue, a pioneering biotech company revolutionizing regenerative medicine with its cutting-edge, bioresorbable hydrogel tissue mimic has successfully completed a €2M seed funding round including equity investment and non-dilutive grants. Led by three prominent female investors from the life science and business sectors, this funding will enable 4Tissue to accelerate the clinical development of its innovative platform. This investment underscores the transformative potential of 4Tissue in women’s health.

The rise and recalibration of sustainable agrifood investments: lessons for us all

There has been an unprecedented surge of investments in sustainable agriculture and food technologies in the last decade, but that trend now appears to have reversed into a free fall in funding. This pattern of promise-to-disillusionment perfectly matches the hype cycle previously demonstrated by breakthrough technologies in other sectors. Can we forge a path forward for sustainable agrifood start-ups?

Belgium’s ‘Positive for the Planet’ evolution through agritech

Our current food system is responsible for around a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, extensive deforestation, unsustainable water usage, and an unprecedented loss of biodiversity. Currently, the processes used to produce our food represent an obstacle to limiting average global temperature increases to the levels set out in the Paris Agreement. But are these damaging effects of our current food production landscape an unavoidable cost of feeding humanity or can smart investments in sustainable agritech be part of the solution?

Mutually beneficial success: the importance of the founder-VC partnership

The adage ‘teamwork makes the dream work’ rings especially true in the dynamic realm of biotech startups. Most successful biotech companies have a foundation built on a robust relationship between their founders and venture capital (VC) partners. This founder-VC partnership represents a symbiotic relationship between a venture capital firm and the founding team of a biotech startup. But what are the key factors for a successful partnership?

Luxembourg’s Vision for a Digital HealthTech Future

Luxembourg may be one of the smallest nations in the world, at just over 2,500 square kilometers and around 670,000 inhabitants, but it packs a punch in the global life sciences ecosystem. With world-class research institutes, startup accelerators, and the country’s growing digital prowess, Luxembourg is attracting global talent and putting digital healthtech solutions front and center. So, how did the Grand Duchy establish and grow its thriving research and startup landscape, and what is the vision for the future?

Anacura acquires OHMX.bio, adding multi-omics for drug discovery and diagnostics to its services

Anacura, a Ghent-based company offering medical and pharmaceutical analytical services, announces the acquisition of OHMX.bio, a Ghent University spin-off specialized in advanced -omics technology. The acquisition expands the existing anacura group activities at AnaBioTec and Labo Nuytinck towards drug discovery and diagnostics research.

Axithra Strengthens its Board of Directors

The appointments of Dr. Alain Pluquet as Chairman of the Board and Mr. Michael Tillmann as Independent Director brings extensive industrial expertise to help develop Axithra’s long-term strategy

Bridging the gap between academia and the sports tech industry

For scientists or budding entrepreneurs with the next big idea in sports tech, the road from conceptualization to product can seem perilous, with many pitfalls along the way. To stand a chance at getting your research out of the lab and into the hands of athletes, it’s essential to start off on the right foot. Read on to see how the collaboration of scientists and sports tech development experts is helping this unique ecosystem in Belgium to flourish.