This week Leiden University celebrates its 450th anniversary – a milestone in a city where science was never a coincidence and where the Leiden Bio Science Park was inevitable. Or was it? Centuries of discovery, innovation and a 80-year war for freedom shaped the path to where we stand today: a thriving, world-class science park dedicated to the future of health. From Boerhaave’s pioneering work to the rise of the Netherland’s first and largest Life Science and Health cluster: it all traces back to our Alma Mater, Leiden University. This week’s story isn’t just ours – it’s the story behind all the stories here and the first of many yet to come.
The continuum of inevitable coincidences, ultimately resulting in the Leiden Bio Science Park, all started with a thank-you-present from Willem van Oranje. In 1575, as a token of gratitude for their courage against the Spanish oppression, he granted the people of Leiden the first university of the Netherlands. This single act set in motion a curious chain of defining events that shaped the city’s scientific legacy.
One pivotal event in this chain was the establishment of the first anatomical theatre of North Europe in Leiden’s city center as part of the faculty of Medicine, only one of the three initial faculties of the university. Here, tribunes were filled to the brim with medical students, surgeons and curious spectators, who came to witness public dissections and learn about the human anatomy. This laid the groundwork for the next crucial link hundred years later: Herman Boerhaave, Europe’s most renowned physician of his time. So renowned, he inspired Jonathan Swifts’ Gulliver’s Travel and even received a very special visit from the Tsar of all Russia Peter the Great – intriguing anecdotes we will explore in future X-factors. As a Leiden University alumnus he owed much of his international fame to our Alma Mater, where he became a professor in medicine, chemistry and botany, as well as rector magnificus and director of the Leiden Hortus Botanicus – the Netherlands’ oldest botanical garden, originally founded for medical research.
Boerhaave’s most influential work took place at the Caecilia hospital, now home to the Rijksmuseum Boerhaave – no coincidence there – and the birthplace of what would become the esteemed Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) . There, he revolutionized clinical teaching by bringing students directly to patients’ bedsides. His hands-on approach, systematic methodology, and emphasis on real-world medical practice attracted students from all across Europe. Revered as the ‘Dutch Hippocrates’ , he laid the foundation for modern medical teaching – an enduring influence that sill echoes through the Leiden Bio Science Park today.
On this rich breeding ground, nourished by the medical education and research of our Alma Mater (or ‘nourishing mother’ in Latin) and the associated academic hospital LUMC, it is no accident that the Leiden Bio Science Park was formed here. Yet, there is still one missing link. What set the stage for its success, particularly in innovative biotechnology?
Leiden Bio Science Park was built on a vision of seamless collaboration between academia and industry to drive worldwide impact, shaped by two contemporary Dutch pioneers: prof. dr. Douwe Breimer and prof. dr. Rob Schilperoort.
Breimer , pharmacology professor and later scientific director, president and rector magnificus, was instrumental in shaping this ecosystem. Regarded as the father of the bio-pharmaceutical sciences at Leiden University, his determination was indispensable in securing its success. In 1983, Leiden’s pharmacy studies faced a serious threat: major government budget cuts for universities that could have crippled the field. Breimer took immediate action to protect its future. On a fitting Father’s Day that year, somewhere in a private garden, he met with the Director General of the Ministry to make a compelling case – arguing that closing down pharmacy would be a grave mistake. His efforts paid off. Just two days later, an agreement was reached between the minister and Leiden University: securing not just the survival of pharmaceutical sciences, but its reinvention. This led to the creation of the brand-new biopharmaceutical sciences program and the establishment of the Center for Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences (BPS) in 1984—now known as the Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research (LACDR), which proudly celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
Around the same time in the 1980s, Schilperoort , a professor Molecular Biology at Leiden University and founding force behind the park itself, played a pivotal role in the ‘new biotechnology’. Just like Breimer, he also had to deal with government-imposed university cutbacks when Leiden was mistakenly deemed a weak player in biochemistry due to a lack of citations in prestigious scientific journals. But then, an observant reader uncovered a clerical error: many of Schilperoort’s publications were listed under “Leyden” instead of “Leiden” and were therefore not counted. Once corrected, Leiden—led by Schilperoort—emerged at the top of national biochemistry rankings. No one dared to make any budget cuts after that.
Together with his leadership role as chair of the National Biotechnology Program Committee, he further ensured international attention, indirectly leading to two American companies establishing themselves on the park in its first two years: Centocor and Molecular Genetics – the latter by investing one and a half million dollar in Dutch company Mogen BV. Their arrival cemented the park’s identity as a true and undeniable Bio Science Park. Subsequently, due to Breimer’s and Schilperoort’s vision and efforts, Leiden transformed from an ordinary industrial city into a leading hub for groundbreaking biotechnology and innovation.
This biotechnological continuum set in motion by Schilperoort and Breimer remains highly visible today. With the original mission of BPS to stimulate and support collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry, it is no surprise that 17% of the bio-pharmaceutical sciences graduates choose to stay at the Leiden Bio Science Park, contributing their expertise to one of the many companies. Of these companies a lot have spun out from LACDR itself and thrive here within the ecosystem, including the Centre for Human Drugs Research (CHDR) – specialist in cutting-edge early-stage clinical drug research and co- initiated by Breimer – and Mimetas, now a global leader in organ-on-a-chip technology.
Another standout example of how Leiden University’s intellectual capital fuels innovation is Dutch biotech company ProQR Therapeutics. Based on research conducted at Leiden University, the company focuses on RNA-based therapies aimed at tackling rare genetic diseases. Similarly, Dutch pharmaceutical company Janssen collaborates closely with LUMC and Leiden University to improve drug development for infectious diseases, drug delivery systems and e-health applications, accelerating the development of vaccines and other treatments .
One of the most impactful strategic partnerships to emerge from this ecosystem was the collaboration between LUMC, CHDR and Janssen Vaccines and Prevention. Together, they conducted clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate, demonstrating the powerful integration of academic research with industry to tackle global health challenges. This even resulted in the establishment of one of the most successful companies of the world, here on the Leiden Bio Science Park: Johnson & Johnson, which employes thousands of people and spent 300 million euros on R&D in the Netherlands in 2023 – all within the fertile university grounds.
As we celebrate our Alma Mater for its 450 testifying years of unwavering commitment to advancing science and innovation, we look forward into the continuum. The Leiden Bio Science Park continues to expand and flourish, propelled by the dynamic partnerships between academia and industry, driving its progress as a global epicenter for revolutionary research and development.
This flourishing ecosystem owes much to the establishment of the Academisch Bedrijven Centrum (ABC) in 1984—a visionary incubator that provided a launchpad for young entrepreneurs and emerging biotech companies under the care of the university, LUMC and municipality of Leiden. The ABC-building was the seed from which today’s BioPartner grew, which has become the largest and oldest incubator of the Netherlands; commemorating its 40th anniversary as well. Together with new developments like the state-of-the-art Gorlaeus and Plus Ultra building, they all foster pioneering research in sustainable biotech, advanced artificial intelligence and next-generation therapeutics. At the same time, they nurture world-class talent to push the boundaries of science. What was once groundbreaking is now self-evident and what is now groundbreaking will become unquestionable in the future.
The future of health is here to stay, at the Leiden Bio Science Park with the Alma Mater at its core – ahead of the times.
Written by: Sam van Wijk and Nicky de Monchy
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