PDC Line Pharma, BCI Pharma, Miracor Medical, Mitral Technologies… Liege continues to attract foreign biotech or medical companies seeking for a favourable environment to thrive.
In less than a year, Liege has become the Eldorado of foreign biotechnological and medical companies. French biotech companies such as BCI Pharma (targeted therapies), PDC Line Pharma (immuno-oncology) and medtech companies like the American Mitral Technologies or the Austrian Miracor Medical, which develop devices for interventional cardiology, settled in the city.
This nice list can be completed with Clarity Pharmaceuticals, a young Australian company specialising in nuclear medicine, which decided to settle in Liege as part of a project dedicated to cardiovascular diseases.
The Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency (AWEX)’s support to Clarity Pharmaceuticals has been decisive. Indeed, it is AWEX that in 2004 presented the Wallonia’s advantages to Clarity Pharmaceuticals. AWEX has done the right follow up introducing the company to potential partners like Biowin, the Wallonia’s health care cluster. Clarity Pharmaceuticals founder Matt Harris decided to establish the activities of his young company in Wallonia on the basis of these elements.
These new developments also encourage the creation of spins-off within the University of Liege such as Vitricell which has raised more than one million euros to offer innovative solutions to cryopreserve cells.
Marc Foidart, Meusinvest’s vice director (public investment fund of Liege) declared to the business newspaper “l’Echo” that the region hosts a new biotech or medtech company every two months. “It represents 5 to 7 companies a year over the last 5 years. Health sciences are gradually becoming the most important sector in Meusinvest’s investments.”
Liege currently has 72 companies active in life sciences which create about 100 new jobs each year. This trend isn’t about to stop and with the growing sales of their products, these companies have more than doubled their turnover in 10 years.
“Gold nuggets” in Liege
Several renowned companies such as Mithra, Eurogentec or Kitozyme, all export success stories, are emerging as key players on the vibrant Liège biotech scene. Founded in 1999 as a spin-off of the Liege University, Mithra is dedicated to women’s health products and has become a multinational corporation over the years.
Thanks to AWEX’s help, Mithra signed distribution agreements in around 40 countries including the United States, Japan, Canada, Chili, China, Australia, but also Eastern Europe in Albania or Bulgaria. It has also prepared its transformation into a multinational company with the creation of subsidiaries in France, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxemburg. In order to achieve its goals Mithra also received financial incentives from AWEX and was supported in the physical establishment of its subsidiaries.
Eurogentec, active in bio-production, received the Wallonia Export Award “Europe”. This competition takes place every two years and rewards dynamic exporters who have contributed to the promotion of Walloon quality and know-how abroad. The company recently invested 40 million euros to create 40 jobs in Liege.
In the bubbling environment of Liège-based biotech champions, Kitozyme, also a Liege University spin-off dedicated to the processing of vegetable ingredients to develop health products, experiences an exponential growth. Once again, AWEX spotted Kitozyme’s potential and provided grants to help the company to explore new markets including non-European Union markets.
Chitosan (a biodegradable molecule synthetized from mushrooms), produced by Kitozyme and mainly used for weight-control or digestive health, works wonders in oenology. Success became international. In collaboration with Lallemand (wine production and distribution leader) Kitozyme products are exported to great wine countries: Italy, Spain, France, Chili, United States, Australia, and South Africa.
A gateway to internationalisation
Physiol, an ophthalmology company that won the Wallonia Export Award, has started an international development. Last September it became majority shareholder of an Italian company known as Optikon.
Created in 2003, Diagenode, which manufactures diagnostic kits to detect viral diseases, has made a breakthrough on the epigenetics market and is even a worldwide leader in this sector. It has experienced a real boom. Since 2008 it has increased its turnover from 20 to 25% and has multiplied by three the Belgian workforce. AWEX supported its exploration of new markets outside the European Union.
Some other startups will soon complete this biotech eco-system: Artialis (University of Liege’s spin-off) which has a huge potential in joint health, Dim3 which is specialised in connected medicine or Kiomed which is developing a gel against osteoarthritis. Once again, the numerous AWEX’s incentives have offered an added-value to the various initiatives undertaken by these promising companies.
Liege has indeed become a gateway for the international projects of all these companies and is becoming attractive for other companies that are developing an expertise in the fields of cardiology, neurosciences, inflammatory diseases....
