Ghent - 21 May 2015– As a major financing centre for life sciences companies in Europe, Euronext expressed once again its support to FlandersBio on the occasion of the organisation of the 11th edition of its annual life sciences conference Knowledge for Growth in Ghent. Over 1,000 participants and more than 110 companies rallied behind the theme of Knowledge for Growth 2015: “A life sciences-driven network economy, looking beyond borders”.
To celebrate the opening of the eleventh edition of Knowledge for Growth, Tim van Hauwermeiren, CEO of arGEN-X, Hilde Windels, CFO of Biocartis and Michel Helbig de Balzac, Chairman of Bone Therapeutics, were invited to open the market on Euronext Brussels. They were joined by Vincent Van Dessel, CEO of Euronext Brussels and Alain Baetens, Head of Listings of Euronext Brussels.
Alain Baetens, Head of Listings of Euronext Brussels, stated: “As Europe’s leading exchange venue for life sciences IPO’s, we are proud to be structurally associated with Europe’s leading Life Sciences Convention. It is a major platform for entrepreneurs, analysts and investors who are interested in all that matters for the life sciences industry. Boosting smart connections between innovative entrepreneurs and investors is at the heart of Euronext’s strategy, and the Knowledge for Growth Convention is very successful in realizing this objective.”
Hilde Windels, CFO of Biocartis, added: “Biocartis raised 115 million euros in a successful IPO last month. It is an important milestone in the history of Biocartis and it helps to fuel the development of the Idylla platform, our diagnostic solutions that aim to help guide patient treatment and improve outcomes. At the same time it demonstrates that building innovative companies in Flanders is a very feasible and attractive option. Building on the support from the government and professional network of biotech and pharma companies, universities and biotech-institutes, companies like Biocartis can benefit from an ideal craddle for their future growth.”
Henk Joos, Managing Director of FlandersBio, concludes:“The last year has been a vibrant year for our cluster. The arrival of arGEN-X, Bone Therapeutics and Biocartis on Euronext Brussels are major milestone events on the financial front. The official launch of the MBI Life Sciences & Health Academy is a major milestone on our path to a strong human capital development. Finance and human capital do remain two of the key components of success for Flanders Life Sciences Hot Spot”.