Flemish biotech institute joins EU coalition to boost investment
The Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) is joining the newly established European Life Sciences Coalition (ELSC), a partnership designed to mobilise more investment in biotech and life sciences.
According to VIB CEO Jérôme Van Biervliet, the move is essential to prevent European innovation from continuing to flow to the United States. "Europe must be able to finance its own innovation. Otherwise, we will lose not only companies, but also economic strength and talent."
Reforming investment frameworks
The European Life Sciences Coalition brings together specialised investment funds, law firms, and research institutions. Members include international venture capital players such as Forbion, HealthCap, Novo Holdings, Omega Funds, and Sofinnova Partners, alongside legal firms Cooley and Covington & Burling.
Dutch investment bank Van Lanschot Kempen is also part of the coalition. Well-known in Belgium through biotech analyst Jan De Kerpel, the bank has long been active in life sciences financing and regularly supports IPOs and capital rounds for biotech companies. It recently announced closer collaboration with KBC Securities, further strengthening its presence in Belgian and broader European capital markets.
VIB, a major European research institution, will participate alongside the coalition in partnership with Invest Europe, the umbrella organisation for private equity investors.
Strengthening European capital markets
The coalition’s goal is not to seek subsidies, but to stimulate structural reforms that facilitate investment in innovative companies. Specifically, it aims to convince policymakers to better align capital markets, expand institutional investors' scope for venture capital and strengthen European stock exchanges.
"It's about bridging the gap between science and growth capital," says Van Biervliet. "We have the talent and research in Europe, but we must ensure that companies here can also grow."
According to the coalition’s initiators, Europe is scientifically strong but losing ground financially to the United States and China. European life sciences funds represent only a small share of the global venture capital market, while most European biotech IPOs occur outside the EU.
The coalition, therefore, seeks a pan-European approach, bringing together investors, research institutions, and governments to prevent innovation from originating in Europe but being financed and marketed elsewhere.
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