About BioWin, the Health Competitiveness Cluster of Wallonia

Founded in 2006, BioWin, the Health Cluster of Wallonia (Belgium), is the regional reference for all stakeholders (companies, research centres and universities) engaged in innovative R&D and/or skills development projects in the field of health biotechnology and medical technologies. The cluster implements many actions designed to promote Walloon scientific and industrial excellence at the international level.

One of BioWin’s key technological domains is Cell Therapy. In the area of cellular therapy, Wallonia’s successive Marshall Plans have played a vital role in the region’s growth, with significant resources provided by the regional government to support innovation in this sector (> 92M€ public investments).

R&D is intensifying in Wallonia, thanks to an increasing number of initiatives and 5 companies active in this fast-developing field (Bone therapeutics, Celyad, Promethera Biosciences, Novadip Biosciences and Orgenesis). The powerful ecosystem of cellular therapy research laboratories creates a culture of technological, scientific and entrepreneurial excellence :

• 5 universities (UCL, ULB, ULg, UMons and UNamur) with more than 30 laboratories active in cell therapy and related domains;
• > 20 000 hospitals beds available for clinical trials;
• Fastest approval process in Europe (2 weeks) for Phase I Clinical Trials

Today, Wallonia is a leader in industrialising cellular therapy products, and displays a level of innovation and dynamism seen in very few areas of Europe.