Life Sciences in Wallonia
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Where Cutting-Edge Health Science Meets World-Class Chocolate
Belgium has long been a global biopharma leader, punching far above its size and offering direct access to Europe’s largest markets. At the heart of this success, Wallonia stands out as a vibrant region where biotech, engineering, and health innovation converge with industrial excellence.
Guided by a smart, long-term public strategy, Wallonia has cultivated a collaborative ecosystem offering exceptional talent, cutting-edge technologies, and full value- chain expertise. From biotechnology and nuclear medicine to health technologies, its universities, clinical partners, specialized infrastructure, and tailored financing solutions make Wallonia the ideal place to nurture science and grow business.
Belgium’s ranking in Europe
#1
for biotech aggregated market cap
#1
biopharma R&D spending
#2
for clinical trials
#3
for biopharma export
Test source
There’s a good chance your medicines and vaccines come from Belgium
Belgium stands among the world’s biopharma powerhouses, leading Europe in biopharmaceutical R&D investment per capita—around €16 million every day—and ranking first for biotech market capitalisation, close to €50 billion. Though small in size, Belgium represents nearly 20% of the EU’s biopharma R&D exports. Global pharma leaders such as GSK, Pfizer, UCB, Takeda, and Johnson & Johnson have made Belgium a central hub for innovation, production, and exports in medicines and vaccines worldwide.
In Wallonia
50k
direct and indirect jobs in life sciences
#1
export industry of the region
5
universities and 11.000 researchers
4
life science hubs
Wallonia, a mature life sciences & health ecosystem
In Wallonia, science doesn’t live in silos — it moves seamlessly from the lab bench to global markets. Across just 16,900 km2 (~6,500 mi2), the region hosts over 300 life sciences organisations generating €10.5 billion in annual
revenue and 20,000 direct jobs, growing +4.5 % per year over the past 15 years.
Global companies provide stability and industrial expertise, while research and innovation thrive on a tight academic–industry continuum supported by five universities, research centres, hospitals, and specialized life sciences parks.
A leader in biomanufacturing and nuclear medicine, Wallonia supplies radioisotopes and radiopharma technologies to hospitals worldwide while excelling in advanced drug-substance production, process development, and fill–finish services.
With 100,000 m2 of modern lab and office space, two CEIV Pharma certified airports (Brussels and Liège), and dedicated training and funding tools, Wallonia offers the ideal environment to connect innovation with industrial scale.