IXA at the BIO International Convention to boost life science partnerships

From 4-9 June, IXA attended the BIO International Convention in Boston, aiming for global partnerships. The BIO International Convention attracts 14,000+ biotechnology and pharma leaders for one week of intensive networking to discover new opportunities and promising partnerships. A team of six business developers from both the Amsterdam UMC and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam had 87 meetings/speed-dates with Life Science partners from other knowledge institutions, investors, biotechnological companies, pharmaceutical companies and businesses in medical technology. With the backdrop of the BIO International Convention, Mark Mizee and Frederique Bambach from Amsterdam UMC took part in the Dutch economic trade mission in the same week, to strengthen the Dutch Life Sciences!, The Dutch trade mission was led by minister Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate) and minister Ernst Kuipers (Public Health, Welfare and Sport).

‘The meetings with companies, investors and knowledge institutions creates a wonderful opportunity to ensure the expertise of Amsterdam UMC researchers can be of value in medicine, diagnostics or medtech development, often in the form of collaborative research projects’ says Mark Mizee, business developer of Amsterdam Neuroscience (Amsterdam UMC). ‘We try to link inventions, expertise, and technology from Amsterdam UMC to industry partners in order to valorise them, through licensing or collaboration.

About the Dutch delegation
More than fifty innovative Dutch companies (startups, SMEs and large companies) and knowledge institutions joined this economic mission to Boston. They also participated in the BIO International Convention, the largest global event and exhibition in the field of biotechnology. Ministers Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate) and Ernst Kuipers (Health, Welfare and Sport) jointly lead the trade mission in Boston. The economic mission is all about furthering international cooperation, learning from the Massachusetts Life Sciences & Health ecosystem, and presenting the Dutch sector to American companies, researchers and investors.

Frederique Bambach from the Amsterdam UMC tells us all about taking part in the trade mission: “With great talks and discussions on topics like women’s leadership in biotech, bringing innovations from lab to market and the role of data in accelerating diagnostics and drug development, I am leaving with new connections, energy and ideas that will help to further develop the valorisation strategy of Amsterdam UMC. All of this in light of the Netherlands becoming Europe’s connected life sciences & health metropolis!”

Government support for the Dutch Life Sciences
There are approximately 3,000 innovative Life Science & Health (LSH) companies in the Netherlands that have an economic impact of 7 billion euros roughly. In 2019, the Dutch LSH industry was boosted by the relocation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to the Netherlands. The Dutch government is investing hundreds of millions Euros extra in the sector through the National Growth Fund for projects such as RegMedXB, Health-RI, PharmaNL, Biotech Booster and Oncode-PACT.

Boston as a global hub for the life sciences
Boston and its surrounding areas are the global heart of the life sciences industry. It is home to more than 1,000 biotechnology companies, ranging from start-ups to pharmaceutical multinationals worth billions of euros. The proximity of the world’s leading American universities make the area a large hub of a network of scientists and an influx of talent.

• Read the press release by the Dutch Government

On photo from left to right:
Timo Smets, Steven van Huiden, Pieter Slijkerman, Andrea Soto Padilla, Frederique Bambach and Mark Mizee, all Amsterdam UMC.
Missing on photo Dalila El Ouarrat of IXA-VU.
Contact IXA-Amsterdam UMC and IXA-VU team