EMA Visits Leiden Bio Science Park

As part of the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) EU-Competitiveness initiative, representatives from the agency visited Leiden Bio Science Park for an in-depth conversation with the local life sciences ecosystem. The goal: to raise awareness of regulatory support tools, including the Innovation Task Force, Scientific Advice, and PRIME, that can help innovators bring therapies to patients faster and more effectively.

The visit brought together investors, academic leaders, incubator experts, and business development professionals, highlighting how Leiden Bio Science Park actively bridges the worlds of science, entrepreneurship, and patient access. Discussions focused on aligning regulatory support with early-stage development and strengthening Europe’s competitiveness through strategic collaboration.

We were honoured to host Emmanuel Cormier, Head of Regulatory Science and Innovation at EMA, and Sebastian Asprella, Programme Lead for EU Competitiveness, and deeply appreciate their openness to dialogue.

Key voices from our ecosystem included:

• Rob Mayfield (LEH) on early-stage investment

• Stefan Ellenbroek (unlock_) on start-up growth and valorisation

• Prof. Hubertus Irth on the academic perspective

• Prof. Pieter H. Reitsma, Elmer Maurits, and Marieke van der Lans on biotech development and scale-up journeys

The visit was facilitated by the Leiden Bio Science Park team, with Esther Peters, Amoy Anderson, and Victor van der Horst coordinating conversations across stakeholders.

This meeting was a clear signal that regulatory science, entrepreneurial readiness, and investment strategy are converging and that innovation clusters like Leiden play a vital role in shaping Europe’s life sciences future.