Flemish biotech and healthtech together as one organization
Gent & Leuven, 17/02/2025 – The network organization flanders.bio and spearhead cluster MEDVIA are merging into a new organization that will represent biotech and healthtech in Flanders. The members of both organizations – representing more than 500 companies, healthcare providers and academic institutions – voted in favor of a unified organization that can weigh in on the national and international interests of this important innovation sector for Belgium. The challenges are legion, but with the right focus, Flanders can continue to reach great heights.
Flanders has been able to boast a strong biotech and biopharma industry for years, supported from the start by flanders.bio, which now has >340 members. Only a few weeks ago, argenx opened the renowned J.P. Morgan conference in San Francisco. In the meantime, an entire healthtech community has also developed in Flanders, which has not gone unnoticed in the US, thanks to MEDVIA’s Say Yes to the US program.
Flanders is still the home base for innovation in the healthcare sector, recognized globally for its powerhouse endeavors in research and development.
CEO & ad interim board appointed
Dirk Reyn and Herman Verrelst, the respective chairs of flanders.bio and MEDVIA, will sit as independent directors on the ad interim Board of Directors that has been established for the new organization. Ann Van Gysel, CEO of MEDVIA, has been appointed as CEO of the new organization and would like to thank flanders.bio’s current CEO, Patrik De Haes, for his dedication to making the merger a smooth process.
In the following few days, the administration will be carried out to legally form the new, merged organization. This organization will be officially presented at the annual conference Knowledge for Growth on 8 May 2025 in Antwerp. But the direction is already clear:
Dirk Reyn, Chair of the Board of Directors of flanders.bio: “By joining forces, we are building a more efficient organization that will represent the entire sector with one voice. By bringing together all the players that have an impact on our health – red, green and white biotech as well as the healthtech developers consisting of companies, academic institutes and hospitals – we can also respond much better to the global challenges we face, and create more opportunities for our companies.”
Herman Verrelst, Chair of the Board of directors of MEDVIA, adds: “The challenges should not be underestimated. Flanders is a region where innovation is central. This remains the essence for the new organization. MEDVIA’s role as a spearhead cluster in partnership with VLAIO and supporting the intersection of biotech and healthtech will be transferred in its entirety. This subsidy program will continue to play an important role for the entire Flemish health ecosystem.”
Ann Van Gysel, CEO, concludes: “The focus from the start will be on supporting the members and developing strategic R&D roadmaps for Flanders. There is so much to be gained from this merger. I am therefore very grateful for the trust I have received from both organizations.”
About MEDVIA
MEDVIA is an industry-driven membership organization that fosters health innovation in Flanders. Founded in 2021 as one of six spearhead clusters supported by Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO), MEDVIA nurtures R&D at the intersection of biotech, medtech and digital technologies. medvia.be
About flanders.bio
flanders.bio has been catalyzing growth in the Flemish life sciences sector for 20 years. It is a respected source of information for key stakeholders, the media and local governments. flanders.bio organizes Knowledge for Growth, the biggest life sciences conference in the Benelux. flanders.bio
