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BioVox

With a local focus and global reach, the news platform BioVox shares insights into the Benelux life sciences ecosystem with readers across the world. BioVox is powered by Biovia: the health innovation cluster for Flanders.
Picture of BioVox

BioVox

With a local focus and global reach, the news platform BioVox shares insights into the Benelux life sciences ecosystem with readers across the world. BioVox is powered by Biovia: the health innovation cluster for Flanders.

Rejuvenate Biomed: Expanding peoples’ health spans by boosting cell resilience

Aging will affect each and every one of us at some point; it is part of the covenant of life. However, just as we have learned to treat and prevent various forms of cancers and cardiovascular diseases, there are numerous ways which we can improve peoples’ health spans. Rejuvenate Biomed is a young Belgian company in this field, leveraging safe prescription drugs to improve cell resilience and help us stay well for longer.

International pharmaceutical consultant Amador Bioscience picks Belgium for its first European base

For its first European base, pharmaceutical consultant Amador Bioscience has chosen to set up shop in Limburg province, Belgium. The company, which already had branches in the United States and China, was attracted to Hasselt because of the proximity of the University of Hasselt (UHasselt), which has a strong reputation in biostatistics. In the coming years, Amador Bioscience is looking to hire 120 biostatisticians and biomedical engineers at its Belgian site.

Successes and setbacks for women’s health specialist Mithra

It has been a year with ups and downs for Mithra – the Liège-based specialist in women’s health. The company experienced huge success with its pioneering contraceptive pill Estelle, which became available in regions all over the world. But the company also discontinued the research program of another product, PeriNesta, developed to battle symptoms arising during menopause. Overall the company is doing good work though, developing innovations in a field that has historically been neglected.

Belgium has all the ingredients to be a top country for data science in health – but we have to act now!

Belgium has all the ingredients to be number one for real-world data in healthcare

Belgium is home to one of the world’s strongest health clusters and has long been ranked as the best country in the EU for clinical trials. However, if Belgium is to maintain this attractive clinical trial environment – and its quality healthcare system – the country needs to improve its position regarding the reuse of health data for research. BioVox spoke with Ingrid Maes from Inovigate about an upcoming report on Belgium’s real-world data initiatives and legislation, and how the country compares with the rest of Europe.

Knowledge for Growth insights on sharing health data

Knowledge for Growth is Belgium’s largest life sciences conference, and with a mix of thought leaders from across the ecosystem, always has a finger on the pulse of current topics. This year, the event focused heavily on data science, with a range of keynote talks and sessions dedicated to the important topic. One of the afternoon panels in particular, Understanding Data, held a lot of insights from Liesbet Peeters (Prof. Biomedical Data Sciences at Hasselt University) and Bart Vannieuwenhuyse (Data Sciences Lead at Janssen Benelux Campus).

The dark matter of the genome: Flamingo Therapeutics taps potential of mysterious RNA for cancer therapies

Things are moving fast for Flamingo Therapeutics, a Leuven-based biotech company developing innovative RNA-targeted cancer therapies. The start-up is a pioneer in the field of lncRNAs, a large and untapped class of disease-causing targets within the so-called ‘dark matter’ of the human genome.

Rejuvenate Biomed raises a EUR 15.7 million Series B to accelerate clinical development of its sarcopenia treatment for healthy aging

Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, Schlieren, Zürich, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, 12 October 2021 – Rejuvenate Biomed NV (‘Rejuvenate’), a biomedical company developing novel combination drugs for age-related diseases, today announces a EUR 15.7 million Series B round. The funding is being used to accelerate the clinical development of Rejuvenate’s lead candidate RJx-01 in both acute and chronic sarcopenia (disuse-induced and age-related muscle failure).

EsoBiotec ready to transform cell therapy cancer treatments

Maccabi safely unlocks a treasure trove of health data for research insights

Progress in the use of patient healthcare data is going slow for most countries, but some are racing ahead and setting the bar high. In Israel, the healthcare provider Maccabi has developed a system where researchers can access decades of medical records without compromising patient privacy. This incredible trove of medical data has given rise to groundbreaking academic and industry research, improving the lives of people around the world.

A vision of the future: smart contact lenses to treat patients with iris disorders and light sensitivity

A woman opens her front door and looks to the sky to judge the weather. It’s sunny and inside her contact lenses, tiny microchips switch on layers of liquid crystals to protect her eyes from the bright light. Satisfied she won’t need a raincoat, the woman steps onto the street and goes about her day. It might sound like the start of a sci-fi novel, but this is the reality of Azalea Vision’s smart tech.

Fungi roots: the building blocks of a circular economy?

In the global search for more sustainable materials, one substance has recently begun attracting a lot of attention: mycelium, the white roots of fungi. VUB researcher Elise Elsacker has been studying the unique properties of mycelium and its potential for lowering environmental impact in the building and manufacturing industries, helping us move towards a circular economy.

Newton Biocapital invests in PRISM BioLab to support development of a unique peptide mimetic technology platform to discover new drugs for intractable diseases

Why keeping up with data science matters for our health

Data without science is nothing; just 1s and 0s, floating around a cloud waiting for someone to make sense of them. Data science is the process of extracting value from data, using advanced analytics tools. Enormous amounts of health information are being gathered every second, and we are rapidly getting better at decoding it: turning bytes into insights that can be used to improve the lives of patients. But the pace, methods and ethics of data science adoption varies dramatically between countries and regions. Why should we care about keeping up?

Betting on the best egg: Aurora test doubles pregnancy chances in assisted conception

Assisted conception techniques have matured in the last few decades, with Belgian scientists playing a big part in the progress. The Aurora test, developed by the Belgian start-up Fertiga, now further improves the odds for couples wanting to be parents: the test doubles the chances of becoming pregnant after just one fertility treatment.