The southern region of Belgium, Wallonia, has grown into a major European hub for biopharma research and
manufacturing. Ludovic Waha, Senior Life Sciences Business Developer at the Wallonia Export & Investment
Agency (AWEX) discussed some of the factors that have made Wallonia, and Belgium more broadly, an appealing
destination for life science researchers, entrepreneurs and investors.

How recently has the Wallonia region begun to prioritise investment in the biotech and pharma industries?
Most countries in Europe decided to strengthen their life science industry after the COVID period. For Belgium and Wallonia, we have been supporting and financing this industry for a much longer time, about 20 years. Historically, a number of companies, with the support of the Government, grew and became major global players such as GSK, Baxter and UCB. This success paved the way for new medium-sized and smaller companies and led to the emergence of a genuine, dynamic ecosystem.

The rapid expansion of this ecosystem has been built on a winning trio of strong collaboration between universities and research centres, public authorities, and the industrial sector, each playing a complementary and essential role in innovation, growth and industrial development.