Leiden Bio Science Park welcomed Minister Heleen Herbert of Economic Affairs and Director-General Erwin Nijsse for a visit focused on the future of red biotech in the Netherlands. The programme brought together government, industry, science and the region to discuss how the Netherlands can strengthen its international position in this strategically important sector.
Biotech Nexus: a shared plan for Dutch red biotech
During the visit, representatives of the Dutch red biotech sector presented Minister Herbert with the national Biotech Nexus plan. The plan, originally shaped with input from Leiden Bio Science Park, has grown into a national proposition supported by clusters and organisations across the Dutch red biotech sector.
The plan reflects a shared sense of urgency. The Netherlands has a strong knowledge base, world-class talent and internationally competitive life sciences ecosystems. At the same time, the conditions needed to translate this strength into growth, from research and development to scaling and manufacturing, need to be strengthened.
At Plus Ultra, Annemiek Verkamman of hollandbio, Carla Vos of the Vereniging Innovatieve Geneesmiddelen, Hans Hofstraat of Utrecht Science Park, Mark Ypinga of Pivot Park and Esther Peters of Leiden Bio Science Park each highlighted the importance of the plan before presenting it to the Minister on behalf of the wider sector.
The Biotech Nexus plan builds on the collaboration between clusters and organisations across the Netherlands and sets out concrete proposals for strengthening the country’s red biotech ecosystem.
A strategic plan and investment agenda for Leiden
Leiden Bio Science Park also presented Minister Herbert with its own strategic plan and investment agenda for Leiden.
The plan sets out how Leiden can further strengthen its international position as a leading life sciences and health ecosystem, building on its strong foundations in research, healthcare, biotech and pharmaceutical development. It also provides a framework for further developing the innovation engines within the Park and strengthening connections across the wider region.
The plans are already being put into action, while continued commitment and investment will be needed to ensure that the Netherlands and its life sciences clusters remain internationally competitive.
Our message to Minister Herbert was clear: let’s build this together.
Strengthening Dutch red biotech requires collaboration across government, industry, science and the country’s life sciences clusters. Leiden Bio Science Park is ready to play its part and to work with partners across the region and the Netherlands to turn the country’s biotech potential into sustainable growth, health and societal impact.
Exploring the Leiden ecosystem
The visit also offered an opportunity to showcase the organisations and people driving innovation across Leiden Bio Science Park.
The programme included a tour of Bristol Myers Squibb’s QC lab, a bike tour across the Park and pitches from three companies representing different parts of the Leiden ecosystem: Leyden Labs, VarmX and MIMETAS.
Together, the programme demonstrated the breadth of the Leiden ecosystem, from fundamental research and drug development to clinical translation and biotechnology companies developing new solutions for patients.
We thank Minister Herbert, Director-General Nijsse and the entire Ministry of Economic Affairs team for their visit and engagement. We look forward to continuing the conversation and working together with partners across Leiden, the region and the Netherlands to strengthen the future of Dutch red biotech.
