Celyad, iTeos Therapeutics and PDC*line Pharma All Well Positioned to Benefit from Vibrant Partnering Dynamics in Immuno-oncology
Gosselies, Belgium and San Diego, CA, USA, June 23, 2017 – BioWin, the primary health cluster of the Walloon region in Belgium, showcased their leading immuno-oncology companies at a satellite seminar titled, “Belgian-US Collaborations in the Immuno-Oncology Gold Rush” at the BIO International Conference 2017 in San Diego, California earlier this week. The workshop, which was organized by BioWin, Bio.be/essenscia, FlandersBio and LifeTech Brussels, with the support of AWEX, FIT and Brussels Export featured immuno-oncology collaborations between Belgian companies with key speakers from Celyad, iTeos Therapeutics and PDC*line Pharma in addition to representatives from AbbVie, argenx, Pfizer (partnered with iTeos since 2014) and the Moffitt Cancer Center (research collaboration with Celyad). Around 140 participants joined the panel discussion.
“Wallonia has attracted and supported an impressive first wave of cancer immunotherapy companies. This in turn has led to lucrative licensing and innovative research agreements with leading US-based organizations. Cancer immunotherapy will remain one of the key building blocks in the growth strategy of the Walloon cluster and we look forward to being an active partner for the current and future leaders in the field,” commented Sylvie Ponchaut, General Manager of BioWin. “Ultimately, the quality and innovation found in the Walloon region serves as a foundation for the development of ideas and solutions for critical health problems.”
“As an international leader in the discovery and development of CAR-T cell therapies and in order to promote Belgian biopharmaceutical expertise, it was important for us to be present at BIO 2017. Through the opportunity offered by BioWin we were able to highlight our fruitful collaboration with the Moffitt Cancer Center with whom we work on our THINK trial as well as on manufacturing aspects related to our NKR2 product,” said Sophie Agaugue, R&D Manager at Celyad.
Michel Detheux, Chief Executive Officer of iTeos Therapeutics commented, “iTeos is proud to represent the Walloon region on the international stage alongside other leading local immuno-oncology companies from the cluster. While promoting the scientific excellence of the region, BioWin also supports healthcare companies in Wallonia by providing access to local stakeholders, financial support, a network for collaboration with academic partners and other companies active in the healthcare field as well as training and employment. BioWin’s support has assisted us in growing our business quickly to become an innovative up-and-coming company in the immuno-oncology space.”
“The Walloon region has one of the most attractive ecosystems for immuno-oncology with the quality of research, the excellence of the hospitals, the access to qualified manpower and financial support. As a result, we decided to establish our company in Belgium,” said Eric Halioua, President & CEO PDC*line Pharma.
On a national level, Belgian biopharma companies currently represent 18% of the European biotech market cap with a total market cap of €21.5 billion and R&D investments continuing to grow considerably. In this sense, Belgium continues to stand as a leader for innovation in the biopharma and biotechnology sector, not only financially, but with a multitude of renowned academic research centers, SMEs and ongoing activity with clinical trials.
Prior to the event, one of the organizers, BioVox, published a white paper, “Immunotherapy: A cure for cancer?” which was presented at the seminar and includes exclusive insights about Belgium’s expertise in immunotherapy. It also addresses topics, among others, such as why is immunotherapy more than the latest hype?; how to tackle challenges and avoid pitfalls; and how to close a major pharma-deal. To access the white paper, click the following link: http://biovox.eu/white-papers/detail/cancer-immunotherapy
About BioWin:
BioWin is the Health competitiveness cluster of Wallonia (Belgium), and its mission is to bring together stakeholders participating in innovative projects and/or education in the fields of Health biotechnology and medical technologies. The research and development supported by the cluster covers all healthcare-related fields.
BioWin has defined four strategic areas of development that are key to achieving its aims.
1- Support the emergence of innovative research projects in areas of technology that are applicable to all the therapeutic fields.
2- Implement training programs to ensure the availability of a qualified and skilled workforce to support the development of the healthcare and biotechnology sectors, both in the short term and in years to come.
3- Support the emergence of innovation platforms capable of meeting the collective technological needs of the members.
4- Promote scientific and industrial excellence from Wallonia on the world stage by participating in the main Healthcare biotechnology trade fairs, by creating and consolidating partnerships and/or relationships with foreign competitiveness clusters and Healthcare clusters, and by participating in European networks and projects.
Contact Information: BioWin Amélie Moyaerts +32 (0) 472 19 80 83 amelie.moyaerts@biowin.org
For media: MacDougall Biomedical Communications
Joanne Tudorica +49 89 2424 3494 jtudorica@macbiocom.com
or Mario Brkulj +49 89 2420 9345 mbrkulj@macbiocom.com
