'It is a story not known to everyone in the Netherlands. Yet, we can be proud of it,' says Marc Jansen of BOM. This success in this sector was founded by two companies at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the last century: Philips (established in 1891) and one of the predecessors of Organon.
Impressive employment
Thanks to Philips and the dozens of spin-offs that have originated from it, the production of medical devices is concentrated in North Brabant, especially in and around Eindhoven. Three-quarters of Dutch employment in this specific part of the sector – also known as medtech – comes from here. As for life sciences, we should especially look at Oss: in Pivot Park, about sixty companies work on new medicines, vaccines, and treatment therapies. The province is responsible for 40 percent of these jobs in our country. Impressive figures, says Jansen, who adds that culture is one of the most important pillars of this strong foundation.
Willingness to help
Jansen gives an example of that culture. 'I am in daily contact with startups active in life sciences and medtech. Recently, I spoke with a founder who stated that there is really only one place where he can operate in this way: here in North Brabant. When his company needed ten suppliers, he found them all within a radius of just ten kilometers. Moreover, all parties wanted to assist him, for example, by planning a small batch of semi-finished products between regular production runs. You can feel this willingness to help each other throughout this region, allowing innovations to be brought to market faster.' According to Jansen, the production facilities in the region and the experience and know-how to industrialize are also contributing factors. 'Startups here not only have the opportunity to produce their models on a small-industrial scale first but also on a large scale afterward. A hurdle that is often difficult to overcome in other parts of the world.'
Longer healthy life as an ambition
The rapid development of the Life Sciences & Health sector is beneficial not only for employment. It also creates the conditions for another – even more important – ambition we have expressed as a society: staying healthy for longer. Carmen van Vilsteren, Director of Strategic Area Health at TU Eindhoven and figurehead of the top sector Life Sciences & Health, explains this. ‘In 2018, our government set a clear objective: by 2040, Dutch people should function, on average, five years longer in good health and the health disparities between higher and lower classes should be reduced by 30 percent. Currently, that difference is as much as seven years.’
Technology plays an important role in this ambition, as it helps to detect diseases, keep people healthy longer, and control costs. Van Vilsteren illustrates this with an example of a heart patient who is allowed to go home after surgery. ‘An intelligent watch continuously monitors the patient and automatically sends important information back to the doctors. This allows for quicker intervention if something starts to go wrong.’
Made in Brabant
- The Oss-based company Organon obtained a patent in 1955 for lynestrenol, the synthetic substance that would form the basis for the world-famous contraceptive pill.
- In 1998, Philips presented a device that can create 3D X-ray images using a C-shaped arm that moves 180 degrees around the patient.
- In Oss, the company Keytruda developed Pembrolizumab, the most prescribed immunotherapy against cancer. The medication was launched at the end of 2014.
A team of specialists
It is just one of the hundreds of medical innovations that companies in North Brabant are working on. Where possible, they are supported by BOM, the Brabant Development Agency. With a team of specialists, Marc Jansen primarily guides startups that are still in the process of refining their product and business model. Jansen does this with a background as a finance specialist. Previously, he was active at one of the three major banks. 'Our team consists of people who know how to develop a business model and build a corporate and financing structure. But also think of a biomedical scientist with knowledge of tech transfer and someone who has a PhD in the field of MRI scans. They understand like no other the technical challenges that startups in life sciences and medtech face. In addition, we have in-house experts who strengthen the ecosystem in Brabant by attracting foreign companies or help Brabant companies take their first steps in foreign markets. This way, we help a company take the next step from various disciplines,' says Jansen.
From idea to product and market
And that help proves to be urgently needed. The path from the first idea to a successful market introduction is long and littered with obstacles. Particularly in the early phase, when there are many uncertainties, and investors, for this reason, are not yet willing to step in. ‘Of course, there are startups that make it on their own strength, but the large group certainly needs some extra help in the beginning phase. That is exactly where we try to help as BOM, so that promising concepts can grow into successful companies. Many innovations in life sciences and medtech start at the university, where students and scientists develop a so-called proof-of-principle and sometimes a proof-of-concept. We have programs that then prepare these startups for the market. With a solid structure, a good management team, and the right business model, so that the company becomes interesting for investors.’
Investing
BOM regularly invests itself in startups in this sector. In the past few years, this happened about thirty times, often in combination with venture capital parties. 'The demand for our services is great, which means we have to select. For this, we mainly look at the feasibility of the innovation, the chances of a startup being funded in the future, and the potential impact. This can be financial, but especially in terms of employment and/or sustainability. This strengthens the focus on social impact,' says Jansen. One of BOM's most successful early investments is in Acerta Pharma Oss. This company was acquired in 2015 by the British-Swedish pharmaceutical AstraZeneca for an amount that ranged between 3.5 and 6.5 billion euros. It is still the highest amount ever paid for a biotech company in the Netherlands.
International field
As a finance specialist at BOM, Jansen sees deals like these, albeit generally much smaller, taking place right before his eyes. 'Finding the right mix of investors for a company in a specific stage makes this work incredibly interesting and continuously challenging. I previously worked in Amsterdam and once back in North Brabant, I initially thought my field of work would become much smaller. But the opposite proved true. Almost all the companies active here in life sciences or medtech operate in a global market. The financing partners also come from everywhere, and we regularly meet them at international conferences, including in the United States and China. Such an exciting workplace in your own backyard, who can say that?’
Marc's career
Marc Jansen studied Business Economics at Tilburg University and holds a Master's in Finance. He then worked for many years at ABN AMRO, where he held various management positions. Advising on financing for SMEs and large companies was the common thread. In his last role there, he and his team were responsible for all business financing in Southern Netherlands. After part of the bank was bought by Deutsche Bank, he was partly responsible for corporate financing in the Netherlands and later became head of Credit Risk SME Netherlands. Over the past 25 years, Marc has been involved in structuring the financing of more than 2,500 enterprises. This ranged from early-stage seed capital to regular bank financing. It was a former colleague from ABN AMRO who approached him for a job at the Brabant Development Agency. Additionally, Marc currently holds various roles in the Venture Capital sector.
Living healthier longer
Besides the diversity of tasks and the international arena, there's yet another element for which Jansen happily gets out of bed every morning. It is the main driving force behind all those innovations in this sector: our desire to live healthier for longer. 'Think about cancer medications, developments in big data that will allow you to personalize medications in the future, or a new generation of ventilators for patients in intensive care units. These are all innovations being developed here in Noord-Brabant, significantly improving the quality of human lives. That's what's behind all those technological developments and funding rounds. That's what we're all in it for.'