The Biopark Brussels Charleroi Biopark The C H EDITO L R A E ue, aoaois rsac centres, research laboratories, tutes, the insti - various in at sector biotechnology work scientists 500 total, In training fornewcompanies. to research from premises, providing to plans business developing from every at step of the innovation process : services of range full a offer can Biopark the Indeed, initiative. cessful suc- a of proof physical the is South Brussels Today,Charleroi Biopark the to HenogenandDelphiGenetics. Incubator 1, which Biopark to this day is home with facilities hosting ness busi- first the created then IGRETEC sciences cluster. life this of development the to buting contri- all Imaging), Molecular and Microscopy for (Center CMMI the by still, recently more and, Laboratory) Biotechnology (Vegetal LBV Health), Immune- (now Biovallée munology), joined by IMI (Institute for Medical Im- in 1999, and the following years saw it addition first the was Medicine) and Biology Molecular of (Institute IBMM tive 1programme. Objec- EU’s the and region cilities required with support from the fa- the developed they together and Excellence, of Centre Biotechnology the was which of component worthy note- a Centre, Minerve the open to decided IGRETEC and ULB 1994, In cooperation between the ULB and IGRETEC The Biopark: the result of 18 years of effective R I O

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T U and finding financial backers: strategy, creating their busi their creatingstrategy, a developing research, market out carrying technology, their marketing and evaluating in assistance provide to hand at is BI the terms, broadest the in business science engineering or device, medical biotechnology, a are they Whether businesses! ding bud- to support essential offers and Sambrinvest, and Héralès Igretec, ULB, re between - partnership the a of is sult PLC Incubator Biopark Biopark IncubatorPLC live intheimmediateregion! those of most and area, Walloon the in live them of 70% businesses. and f a sae ht il e oe to, home amongst others, the cell be therapy com - will that space lab 1200m² of as well for as rental, space standard unfurnished of 1800m² and centre, business specialist expected a of services the all offering incubator 1800m² a includes 2 bator Incu- Biopark finished recently The Biopark Incubator2 Incubator 2”building. ap- “Biopark the infrastructure: propriate the need who teams fessional pro- of work the involves Incubation regional economy. our in jewel international an become set to is that sector flourishing a in

H ness plan, ness all of this of all News continue! contri- will support its and Biopark, have to buted to proud is IGRETEC mature research companies! for facilities of range full A pany MaSTherCell. Employment opportunities Charleroi Aeropole : management andbiotech’ New trainingcourse: bespoke hosting MaSTherCell : housed a-ULaB :advised,financed, Spin-off ingestation Welcome toBioparkIncubator Biopark Incubator Contents N°13 N°13 Directeur général S Marc Debois pring 2012 pring IGRETEC 2-3 8 7 6 5 4 contents Welcome to Biopark Incubator

The Biopark Incubator team is now comfortably located in its new premises. Officially opened on 24 April, Biopark Incubator 2 will act as a trampoline for start- ups and young businesses in life sciences and engineering.

With the economic development of “bare” wing. The top floor of the through remote check-ups, support, Biopark Charleroi Brussels South go- building, with a ceiling of 7m, is used and communication; and CF Pharma, a ing from strength to strength, the exclusively for white rooms that will be company that promotes, markets, and inauguration of the Biopark Incubator equipped and furbished by the com- distributes pharmaceutical, paraphar- 2 on 24 April only adds momentum. pany that uses them (MaSTherCell will maceutical , and medical products. be taking up residence in the near fu- 2 The V-shaped building stands a Biopark Incubator will also be in resi- ture). stone’s throw from the IBMM, IMI, dence from spring onwards, and will and CMMI research centres. Built by The first tenants have moved into manage the building. An additional Igretec with backing from Wallonia, it Biopark Incubator 2 in spring 2012, link in the value chain (see figure), houses 4800m² of offices and labora- and by summer one quarter of the Biopark Incubator will provide extra tories that can be adapted to a com- total surface, or 1200m², will be occu- impetus to the healthy economic de- pied. In addition to MaSTherCell (see pany’s needs, as well as GMP white velopment taking place within the article on page 6), tenants include rooms, spread across four floors. Biopark. Aliwen, a ULB spin-off specialising in Take a look around! On the ground the phytosanitary analysis of our cit- Three roles floor are the reception area and two ies’ trees and that provides manage- “bare” wings (each 600m²): spin-offs ment plans, inventories, and digital The Incubator performs three roles and start-ups will be able to equip ID cards for trees; Microcyc, a new IT that vary depending on the project them according to their needs. Two company that develops applications maturity and what the company fully complete incubation wings are for nursing; CareSquare, specialising wants. These are: support, funding, found on the first floor. One level up in the development and marketing of and hosting. The details vary case to there is an extra incubation wing, innovative IT solutions to improve the case; any project in the life sciences ready for use, in addition to another living conditions of patients at home and engineering sector may apply,

Research IP Proof-of- Business Licensing Fund Creation of Protection concept plan Raising company

Research TTO TTO TTO TTO Theodorus Incubator, Management Department Incubators Incubators (Management+ of Theodorus and Entrepreneurship Center Investment Commitee) shareholders

ULB chain of value Flexible workspace The Smart Work Center is a network of shared offices spread throughout the Fédération Wallonnie-Bruxelles. The concept is simple: provide a flexi- ble workspace with pre-installed technology for a given period. There is no lease and no long-term commitment: only specific pricing for different types of user. The network provides decentralised workspaces within which workers from any background can “set-up shop” and work remotely. Biopark’s neigh- bour, Brussels South Charleroi Airport, has over 1,000,000 business customers every year, and is a Smart Work Center partner. Based on the same concept, BioWin Partner Port is also part of an international network. However, the flexi- ble workspaces are only available to other biotechnology employees.

whether they are from ULB or UMons and other biotech incubators, notably trative services: switchboard, secre- or indeed elsewhere. Wallonia Biotech Coaching. tary, purchasing department, central Biopark Incubator assists project The second role is that of a financial waste management... and more. sponsors in evaluating their techno- advisor. Biopark Incubator can help an Biopark Incubator will also work with logy’s potential, defining the strategic existing or future company to outline Igretec to offer specific services such approach to adopt, identifying po- its financial strategy, compile an appli- as management training and expert 3 tential clients, developing a business cation to obtain funding, meet public consulting. model and financial plan, etc. Biopark or corporate investors (Theodorus/ Read on to see the Biopark Incubator Incubator may also provide assis- ULB, Sambrinvest, etc.) and find ban- through the eyes of the companies it king partners... tance in setting-up or consolidating a has provided with its services: In Sili- management team. It has access to a In its third role, the Biopark Incubator co, a-ULaB and MaSTherCell. network of coaches and experts, and provides businesses premises: it has works closely with the Incubator on 4800m² of office and laboratory space Erasmus Campus (ULB Brussels) EEBIC, that can be adapted to the tenant’s Sandrine Rubay Igretec, the Héraclès business centre, needs. It also offers various adminis-

Contact : In figures Biopark Incubator 7.400.000 euros the building’s budget Aéropole de Charleroi (Excl. VAT) Rue Auguste Piccard 48 4.800 m2 the area of Biopark Incubator 2 6041 Charleroi Tel :+32 (0)71 91 99 50 1.200 m2 the area of white rooms Email : [email protected] March 2012 when the first tenants will take up residence in Biopark Incubator Learn more: 25% building occupancy by summer 2012 www.bioparkincubator.be 5 people Biopark Incubator team € 200.000 Biopark Incubator capital Support A spin-off in gestation The In Silico project is dedicated to applied biocomputing for genetic data, and has received the support of Biopark Incubator for several months now. By summer, the Enlighten Bioscience spin-off should be complete.

“In 2003, the first human genome was sequenced at a cost of $3 billion. Last January, Life Technologies announced that by the end of the year, the same sequencing would be available for only $1000! By 2014, 1,000,000 hu- man genomes could have been se- quenced! What we are experiencing is a something of a snowball effect, but where will these millions of genomes be stored? How will they be kept safe? How can they be cross referenced for diagnostics or clinical studies? Our In Silico project aims to answer these questions”, explains David Weiss, a IRIDIA-CoDE researcher at Graduate three years ago I paid no attention to “We had a lot of potential customers: School of Engineering (ULB). the business side of things. I enrolled the pharmaceutical industry, academic on the Creation and Growth (Création research labs, teaching hospitals, the et Croissance) evening class at the food industry... Our In Silico DB tool is Solvay Brussels School of Economics operated through an online platform, and Management, but even then was and is compatible with the systems 4 still a long way to go before coming already in place within a company; it up with a mature business plan. I rea- uses open source analysis tools... ; we lised that I would need specialist help have done all that we could to ensure to create a technologies start-up”, ad- maximum accessibility. A demo ver- mits David Weiss. sion is available online (http://insilico. The project obtained the support of ulb.ac.be) and already has 500 users, Biopark Incubator, working closely including the MIT (Massachusetts In- with the ULB TTO. Once per week, the stitute of Technology) and Oxford Uni- David Weiss young scientist and the TTO met with versity, as well as a fair number of bio- two advisors. Together, they carried tech and pharmaceutical companies, Innovative technology out market research, gave thought such as Pfizer”. His scientific project is fascinating. In to the positioning of the embryonic By summer, the paperwork should Silico offers a technical solution to the spin-off, developed the financial plan, all be complete and the Enlighten storage, management, and analysis predicted growth, determined the hu- Bioscience spin-off will be officially of genetic data, and has benefited man resources required, and polished launched. The sponsors plan to begin from the longstanding support of the the investors’ presentation and sales fund-raising in the coming months. Brussels-Capital Region (first through pitch. “Working with Biopark Incubator the programme d’impulsion, and then brought the professional edge to our through Spin-off in Brussels), and the Business Oriented high-tech business project. It gave us ULB Technology Transfer Office (TTO). The hard work paid off: in 2012 the access to a network of experts who The team has published articles in nu- ULB investment fund, Theodorus, ex- provided assistance that ranged from merous scientific journals – including pressed an interest in the project. “We assessing the project to creating the a recent article in the esteemed Bio- had already presented the project to company. Most of all, our relationship informatics journal – and while project them a few months earlier, and they with Biopark Incubator gave us confi- seems innovative, potential customers told us that they couldn’t see how we dence in ourselves: a company in ges- ready, and the technology efficient; es- could turn it into a business. Six months tation”, David Weiss concludes. tablishing a company remains a com- later, coaching from Biopark Incubator plicated process in a rapidly evolving improved the project’s economic inte- Nathalie Gobbe market with ever more competition. rest and Theodorus began to consider “I’m a bioengineer: I’ve always worked making an investment”, highlights in academic research labs and until David Weiss, going on to explain that, a-ULaB : advised, financed, housed A young spin-off company from the ULB specialising in asbestos diagnostics, a-ULaB will soon move in to the Biopark Incubator, having already enjoyed the Incubator’s consulting services: especially for the financial plan.

Projects are often born of encoun- doctor in biomedical sciences: I have asbestos is ancient history, given that ters with like-minded individuals, and no idea of how to develop a compa- powdered asbestos was outlawed in a-ULaB is a prime example of this. The ny’s financial plan or to evaluate the 1986, and other kinds of asbestos were encounter that gave birth to a-ULaB market to see if the company is viable. banned in 1998: but asbestos is still was between Erasmus Hospital Respi- Today, thanks to EEBIC and Biopark In- present in a huge number of buildings ratory Department, and Pegase Envi- cubator, we have a strategic five-year and industrial installations, especially ronment. The Respiratory Department plan complete with specific data and in that was at one point the is renowned for its studies into how indicators to monitor... It’s concrete, it world’s biggest importer of asbestos asbestos affects human health, and has milestones: it’s reassuring knowing per capita! We are also world leaders in Pegase Environment is a specialist in it’s there”, highlights Pascal Dumortier, mesothelioma or cancer of the pleura! asbestos inventorying buildings. They co-founder of a-ULaB. So the asbestos problem is far from have decided to pool their skills to And the schooling turned out to be solved!” continues Pascal Dumortier. create a lab for testing asbestos fibres worthwhile: the company was able to a-ULaB will not, however, limit itself to (2000 times thinner than a human hair!) persuade Theodorus, the ULB’s inves- the Belgian market: the company is in suspect materials. tment fund, to invest capital in spring entering business with a project bac- a-ULaB was created on 17 November 2012. ked by AWEX and SOFINEX to carry 2011. “We received assistance from out a feasibility study of asbestos in- Belgium, Kosovo EEBIC and Biopark Incubator, who ventorying two towns and some 154 helped us develop our financial plan, a-ULaB will provide three different buildings in Kosovo. “a-ULaB is cur- refine our strategy, to take a step back services all related to asbestos: the rently focusing on asbestos, and we 5 from our project to gain some perspec- analysis of suspect materials, air-filter want to position ourselves as a high tive, and by asking us questions that at analysis in asbestos removal sites, and quality, certified laboratory. When the first seemed obvious, but then... well, training for those who work in the sec- company matures, it will broaden its I’m a geologist, a mineralogist, and a tor. “Sometimes it’s easy to think that expertise to include other pollutants such as lead, or parasites and mould”, states Philippe A. Remy, a co-founder of a-ULaB. The company will soon take up resi- dence in the Biopark Incubator. “We wanted to set-up in Wallonia, where we already have enthusiastic public partners like AWEX and SOFINEX. The Biopark Incubator was the right choice for several reasons: brand new premises, a dynamic environment at the heart of the Biopark, shared ser- vices, a direct link to our University, the ULB...” explains Pascal Dumortier. The budding company will occupy around 100m² (labs and office space), and em- ploy four people.

Nathalie Gobbe MaSTherCell : bespoke hosting MaSTherCell (Manufacturing Synergies for Therapeutic Cells) is one of the first companies to benefit from Biopark Incubator. Taking full advantage of hosting services, the recent start-up is now one full year ahead of its development plan.

MaSTherCell’s implantation in the Biopark is already a fait accompli. The company is currently located at Biopark Incubator 1, and has received help from the Incubator with putting together a team of ex- perts, supported by Sambrinvest and Igretec. The company has one ambi- tion: to be the leading service pro- vider in the production of cell the- rapy products by 2019 (read more about this in Biopark News 10). However, before it can begin pro- duction of “cell-medicine”, the company first needs a roof over its head: MaSTherCell has decided to set up home in the new Biopark Incuba- tor 2 building, partaking of the hos- ting services available to new com- 6 panies. “We can rent the space we need, while sharing fixed overheads such as heating, maintenance, and running a reception with the other companies in the building”, explains “Location is also important” Didier Argentin, the marketing di- While waiting to move into the rector at MaSTherCell. “Having our building, MaSTherCell continues own building would have required to approach businesses in the cell significantly more funding”. What therapy field. To date, over a dozen is more, as construction work was European and American compa- carried out while MaSTherCell was nies have expressed an interest in created, the start-up leapt ahead of MaSTherCell, and the company its schedule. “We are now one year intends to take advantage of its lo- ahead of schedule compared to cation within the Biopark. “The suc- our initial business plan, and time is cess of a new company is especially money”, enthuses the CBO. dependant on its visibility and its network”, continues Dider Argentin, Good Manufacturing Laboratories “Our location in the Biopark sur- rounds us with industry players and MaSTherCell will occupy a 650m² will enable our network to grow, floor of the building with a cei- slack by providing companies with especially in terms of marketing ling height of 7.5m. A minor detail? the tools, services, and infrastruc- and cooperation”, he concludes. Not when GMP (Good Manufactu- tures required to produce these new MaSTherCell also plans to begin “cell medicines”. Biopark Incubator ring Practice) is to be observed, in partnerships with other companies line with new European standards anticipated the young company’s present in the Biopark in order to for the production of cell therapy needs when it included this special offer a broader range of services products. Sterile rooms require a floor in its building. “It made us able that include quality control and cell high performance ventilation and to focus on our added value, such characterisation. In this light, the controlled air filtration system: a sys- as equipping our GMP labs and Aeropole is the perfect place for the tem that takes up an entire floor to quality system, without needing to young company. itself. Cell-medicine poses specific take care of the construction of the Natacha Jordens constraints and particularities, and building’s ‘shell’”, Didier Argentin there are currently just over 1000m² explains. Work should begin in the of GMP standard paces in Europe. near future, and be completed in MaSTherCell aims to pick up the October. come from arangeofuniversities. staff teaching that means course the sector, and the interuniversity nature of industrial and academic the both from sector. Teaching is provided by trainers STRATE- GIO at the heart anchor of the Biotech/pharma BioWin and mation For Biopark expertise, academic and teaching brings School Brussels Solvay The skills. which their combine in partners the way the is different course . Termonia A. offer arelevant programme. to Management and Economics of School Brussels Solvay and BioWin Biopark Formation has worked with role inmanagingthecompany. larger a play and bench his from away young researcher who wanted to move a for case the was This role. future or currenttheir for skills management lop deve- to want who background entific sci- a with managers young for signed main pointsofthecourse. Termonia,School. Arnaud thedirectortalkstousabout ofBioparkFormation, between theBioWincompetitioncluster, andSolvayBusiness BioparkFormation, course actsasa“mini-MBA”inlifesciences,andistheproduct ofclosecollaboration of thenextacademicyear, offer anewintensivetrainingcourse:STRATEGIO. The newskills,anditiswithfutureupon tolearn managersinmindthatBioparkwill,as managementdutiesareScientists whoaimtoperform increasingly beingcalled Management and biotech’ : e. ht ae this makes What Yes. first outinginto the trainingsector. cated to the development of managerial and strategic skills in the life sciences dedi- field, itplans: issix thethese competition cluster’sof one STRATEGIOis audiences. all for plans development of development the in assist This is the principle of the BIOPHARE project: to bring all training providers together around a shared vision, and stand thefinancialmechanisms involvedinaproject, andto “sell”theproject toacompany. projectscooperative in importance particular Of researcher’sthe is under to technologies, various use to ability uncommon. previously was which cooperation, to up opened business biotechnology the in involved those of to develop. 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of theindustrialcontext. understanding their and network, their from benefit to and Biopark with working be to happy are We workplace. students’ the in plied ap- directly be can that tools uses nagers in a practical approach that their expertise in training new ma- pooling are (ULG) HEC and (UCL) reforeLSM (ULB), SBS The critical. those with a to scientific background is the- training management Providing acumen. managerial to know-how technical the from make switch to difficult remains it alike. However, as universities in a lot of other fields, from that emerge spin-offs young and panies com- large for Belgium, in sectors one of the most is rapidly expanding sector biopharmaceutical The and professor atSBS. “Solvay ExecutiveEducation” Olivier Witmeur, Directeur of «An Important Issue» - 7 Interview express 8 Employment eac rls, xlis Nathalie Czerniatynski explains roles”, tenance main- and and administrative engineer,includes to workman from stretches jobs of range The there. work scientists only not but park, opole is first and foremost a science Aer “The fill. to posts vacant had airport Charleroi around parks ness busi- five the across surveyed nies compa- 263 the of 19% that found study Belgium Manpower recent A dustrial areas. region’sthe in- of image former the with away done economy,and loon Wal- the of driver a as itself lished estab- years, few a in has, park ogy technol- and science Aeropole The decade. past the over has quadrupled that figure a alone, Aeropole the by employed are which of 4,000 and five other parks north of Charleroi, Aeropolethe at work people 12,000 iae sc a egnes multilin- engineers, as such didates for which there is a shortfall of can- of shortfall a is there which for roles other as qualified well as for technicians, looking are nesses “busi- professions, certain of tage Manpower shor- a is at there that says Aeropole, manager branch the Delaitre, Laurence Igretec. manager at development strategic The Bioparkstoodoutasakeyplayer, bothasanemployerandeducator. Manpower tookasnapshotofemploymentattheAeropole. Employment opportuni Charleroi Aeropole academie universitaire academie wallonie-bruxelles te einl and regional the , -

biochemistry andnewtechnologies”. gual call centre agents, and experts in residents ofWallonia. local are employees of 70% universities). Almost and schools regional (from graduates high-school or ates undergraduof - up restaremade the and students, masters third another Doctors, are employees of third one at the Biopark, but they are not alone: sector. A number of researchers work private the restin the labs, and tutes insti- academic in work which of half 535, employs alone South Brussels WithintheAeropole, Biopark Charleroi Nathalie Gobbe,Natacha Jordens, Véronique Kruys,SandrineRubay, Termonia, Arnaud LucVanhamme For more informationvisitwww.biopark.be orcall071600204. Aéropole deCharleroi (Gosselies). 12, Brachet et Jeener Professeurs des lobby,rue IBMM the in Meet Learning”. “Lifelong “Tomorrow’sthemes: threefeature will research“Tomorrow’sroles”, and industry”, in jobs as well as team, Biopark Formation trainers and the Biopark’s (TTO) other scientists and entrepreneurs. The event Office TransferTechnology the meet to opportunity ideal the be centre, imaging CMMI researchcollaborative will ImmuneHealth It the building. Incubator centreBiopark the and the in time spend to “Tomorrow’sable be Skills”. of will visitors theme 5pm, the and 2pm around Between to, put is money and Fund) Fund) Social Development (European Regional ESF (European ERDF that uses the on spotlight the shine the and Wallonia by organised end”, On Sunday 6 May, Biopark will open its doors to the public as part of the “European Week- Biopark takespartin“European Weekend” Editor :NathalieGobbe • EditorialStaff : Department of External Relations,ResearchContact :ULB, Department ofExternal Communications :[email protected], Sub-editor :NancyDath•Lay-out andprinting: Paragraph-Fleurus Te vn am to aims event The Wallonie-Bruxelles. Fédération Bruno André, DominiqueDemonté,PatrickDiStefano, pasttwo years, just over 40jobseekers The Biopark is more than an employer www.biopark.be/formations Full informationavailableat rc, n 7% f hm tr work within three months. start them of 75% and tract, have alreadycon- employment an signed students of 80% course, the of completion Upon or lab. industrial academic an in internship day 20 a on embark classroom they theory, based of months four lowing fol- courses: these completed have shortage in biotechnology. Over the attempting to resolve the personnel tile biotechnologists”, the Biopark is “versa- produce to aims that course ses on cellular culture, and Biopoly, a focu- that course a BioCel, Through jobseekers. for designed days) (80 intensive modules and 2 full courses received 25 following Biopark, the at training have trainees 315 2011, In jobseekers. for courses full sector,and biomedical the in working those for offercourses short include it is also an educator. The courses on +32 (0)71 6002 03•http://www.biopark.be H T U O S S L E S S U R B I O R E L R A H C Sandrine Rubay ties

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