About the sector
The Walloon Region puts its faith in biotechnologies!
Biotechnologies are one of the promising sectors that are breathing new life into the Walloon region. The presence of around twenty multinationals, as well as SME specialising in sectors with a high technological value, has very much contributed to this success story. It is also the fruit of a close collaboration between industries, universities and public authorities. The region also has its very own “biotechnology valley”, the Bio Vallée in Gosselies. Finally, the Marshall Plan, launched in September by the Walloon government, will help to give a further boost to this constant growth.
Since the revolutionary discovery of the general structure of DNA in 1953, genetic engineering – which makes it possible to modify living organisms by changing their genes – is evolving at breakneck speed. Many disciplines, such as microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology and IT have gradually teamed up with this discipline. Without these alliances, biotechnology, which, as its name suggests, is the marriage between the science of living beings – biology – and a range of new technologies, would not be the key sector that it has become today. The potential applications of this scientific domain are numerous and cover a broad range of branches such as pharmaceutical and chemical products, medicine, agriculture, food production and the environment but also the study of crime detection. Wallonia, with its European credentials, is a region at the cutting edge of biotechnologies.
Wallonia at the cutting edge of technologies
If Europe is increasingly active in the sector of biotechnologies, Wallonia is not lagging behind. On the contrary, the heir of a long tradition of scientific innovation, Wallonia is a leading region in this speciality. The hi-tech sectors have been able to take over where heavy industry left off and all the key branches of biotechnology are present on Walloon territory both in terms of research and industry. The large international groups in the biotechnology sector are setting up their subsidiaries here. But what makes the region so attractive? The leadership of several scientific research institutes of Walloon Universities, strong partnerships between the research centres and companies, the presence of scientific enterprise parks where everything is done to encourage partnerships and contacts, a dense and accessible motorway network, not to mention the widely established multilingualism and a qualified workforce. As for the Walloon biotechnology companies, whether in the biomedical, bio-food, biogenetic or biomolecular field, they are making a name for themselves and carving out a leadership position at international level.
For example, one Walloon SME supplies most of the countries of the EU but also increasingly countries of the American and Asian continent, in reactives and veterinary diagnosis kits for the detection of diseases in farm animals. Another SME that only recently set up in business is already present in 60 countries world wide, where it distributes rapid diagnosis kits that allow the detection of enteric and respiratory human pathogens
A priority of the Walloon Region
The Walloon SME active in the fields of biotechnology are increasingly contributing to the growth of the sector. In particular, advanced research in the biogenetic and bimolecular fields, which represent 77% of the biotechnological activity in Wallonia. As for the bio-food industry, which represents 10% of the sectoral turnover, it is currently witnessing strong growth. This allows Wallonia to contribute to 70% of the turnover and 66% of the human potential of the biotechnological sector in Belgium. The Walloon Region wants to keep up the good work! The Marshall plan, launched in September and whose aim is to stimulate the activity, grants specific attention to the pharmaceutical and techno-biological field. Two poles have thus been identified by the plan: health (pharmaceutical, biotechnological sector, etc.) as well as the food industry. 270 million euros will be dedicated first of all to poles of competitiveness up to 120 million and 90 million to the spin-offs/spin-outs. In total, the Region intends to finance the appointment of 620 additional researchers – i.e. 500 new general appointments in the universities, companies and research centres, and 120 doctorates via the grants of the FRIA (a fund associated to the FNRS, with, this time, the equivalent financial effort of the French Community).
Bio Vallée
The Walloon Region has set up its biotechnological valley in Gosselies with the aim of fostering economic and social development. Bio Vallée is a collective Walloon research centre exclusively dedicated to biotechnologies. This infrastructure is the missing link between science and the company, installed at the heart of the ULB Biopole of Charleroi, on the site of the Gosselies Aeropole. Here, the work is focused on transforming the results of the most cutting edge research in life sciences into innovative services. The research themes are dictated by the market demands.
Bio Vallée also puts its high quality human resources at the service of companies and research laboratories that can thus gain access to the most advanced technologies, without having to shoulder the burden of prohibitive investments. With its partners in the Biopole (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Université de Mons-Hainaut, IGRETEC, Wallonia Biotech, etc.) and with the support of the Walloon Region and the European Union, Bio Vallée is thus participating in the economic revival of Wallonia.
There is no doubt about it, Wallonia is a breeding ground for technological-biological companies that is teeming with opportunities for strategic alliances and partnership.
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