
BE2 - Vlaams Gewest / Flanders Region
Innovation Performance Group (2019) : Strong +
Total population (2019) 6,596,233
Population per km² (2017) 487
Proportion population older 65 year % 20,20%
Background
Flanders has showcased as a region with great potential in the pharmaceutical market. The region is characterised by exceptionally rapid approval times for clinical trials and puts heavy emphasis on biotech R&D, through a well-developed ecosystem of startups, SMEs and larger international companies. Different strategic research centra (VIB, imec, VITO) focus on aspects related to personalised medicine and work on the valorisation of their research.
Personalised medicine is furthermore one of the priorities in Flanders' smart specialisation strategy. In this light, Flanders is one of the leading regions in the smart specialisation partnership on personalised medicine (S3P4PM) and coordinator of the SAPHIRe project.
Is the region looking for international/European/interregional collaboration opportunities?
Yes - S3 partnerships
Membership status
Member ICPerMed? no
Mountain ? Non-mountain
Member Euregha? yes
Adriatic-Ionian MacroRegion? no
InnoStars Region? no
Northern Sparsely Populated Area (NSPA)? no
PM region according EC? yes
Baltic Sea MacroRegion? no
S3MedTech region? yes
Danube MacroRegion? no
S3P4PM region? yes
Alpine MacroRegion? no
Regions4PM region? no
ERAPerMed? no
Central Europe? no
MedTech4Europe? no
Council of European BioRegions (CEBR)? yes
1M+Genome initiative? country level member
European Regions Research & Innovation Network (ERRIN)? yes
Vanguard Initiative? yes
S3ClusSport member? yes
Policy documents
Regional level: Vlaamse Beleidsplan Gepersonaliseerde Geneeskunde
Regional level: Vlaanderen in transitie
Regional press release: SAPHIRe
Topics covered In policies : Medical research and innovation (-omics, biomarkers, diagnostics, etc.); Education, training and skill development; Prediction and prevention; ICT/genomics, health, lifestyle data(infrastructure); Electronic and mobile health solutions; Value based healthcare; Public awareness, patient participation with respect to Personalised Medicine/Personalised Health
Funding programmes or other support measures:
national Reimbursement of prenatal molecular screening tests
funding for a dedicated programme related to personalised medicine (ca. 11,25 million euro)
NACE Personalised Medicine/Personalised Health related to Research and Innovation objectives:
C - Manufacturing; C.21 - Basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations; M - Professional, scientific and technical activities
Scientific domain NABS Personalised Medicine/Personalised Health related to Research and Innovation: NABS07 - Health
Policy objective Personalised Medicine/Personalised Health related related to Research and Innovation objectives: G - Public health & security; G.49 - Public health & well-being; I - Social innovation; I.59 - Social innovation with regard to health, well-being & elder care
Policy document (RIS3): Yes
Policy document PM@RIS3: Yes
Major initiatives
Centers for Medical Genetics Genome sequencing infrastructure
Antwerpen registry of congenital anomalies - contributes to the EUROCAT network
Genetic tools for Ecosystem health Assessment in the North Sea region
FRENCH-FLEMISH PREVENTION ACTION COORDINATION IN FESTIVE ENVIRONMENTS
Network of European Delta Regions - Sustainable Delta Governance
Shared value creation in the Healthcare economy through INtegrated business modEls
Digital Innovation Hubs:
Is the region represented in: Horizon2020; Regional Smart Specialisation Strategy Platforms/Partnerships (RIS3); EIT Health/InnoStars/Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS); other?
Organisations in Flanders
Vlaams Instituut voor Technologisch Onderzoek VITO - academic/research
Departement Neurowetenschappen, KU Leuven - academic/research
Therapeutische en Diagnostische Antilichamen, KU Leuven - academic/research
Klinische Farmacologie en Farmacotherapie, KU Leuven - academic/research
Biomedical informatics research network Antwerp Biomina- academic/research
Laboratory for Precision Cancer Medicine LPCM- academic/research
Leuven Institute for Human Genomics and Society LIGAS- academic/research
The Leuven Centre for Artificial Intelligence LEUVEN.AI - academic/research
Departement Economie, Wetenschap & Innovatie DEWI - financing
Self evaluation
General perception of the implementation level of PM in the region - Medium
Rate of the need for developing and implementing PM in the region - Very High
Rate of the need for increasing support/funding for PM activities in the region - High
Rate of the need for increasing the capacity of PM skills in the region - High
Rate of the genomics literacy of the citizens in the region - Medium
Rate of the need for increasing interregional collaboration in PM - Medium
Memberships
European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN)
Image attribution
By Blank map of Europe (with disputed regions).svg: maix¿?derivative work: Alphathon - This file was derived from: Blank map of Europe (with disputed regions).svg:, CC BY-SA 3.0,