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Hugo Van Heuverswyn (born 1948) is a Belgian molecular biologist, biotech pioneer, entrepreneur and businessman. He has been the chairman of the VIB, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, since its inception in 1995.
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Hugo Van Heuverswyn (born 1948) is a Belgian molecular biologist, biotech pioneer, entrepreneur and businessman. He has been the chairman of the VIB, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, since its inception in 1995.
Hugo Van Heuverswyn obtained a chemistry degree at the University of Ghent in 1971 and a PhD in molecular biology in 1978 in the group of Prof. Walter Fiers, a first-tier pioneer in the field of modern biotechnology, [1] in whose laboratory Hugo and his colleagues realized the first ever decoding of a complete viral DNA genome (SV40). In the subsequent period 1979 – 1981 he was appointed visiting professor at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro, where he established, together with Dr. Carlos Morel, the first DNA sequencing laboratory in Latin America.
Scientist and Entrepreneur: After his return to Belgium in 1981, he was invited to set up Biogent, a Belgian subsidiary of Biogen (one of the first biotech companies worldwide), to pursue the molecular cloning of TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) and other cytokines, a new class of biomolecules which at that time had just started to be discovered, but today are revolutionizing the field of immunology and anti-cancer therapy. In 1985, Hugo Van Heuverswyn initiated together with Rudi Mariën, the creation of INNOGENETICS, at a time that venture capital was still non-existing in Belgium. He continued to serve as CEO and board member till 2000, two years after INNX had become the first biotech company to list on EASDAQ in 1998 (a new European stock exchange for growth companies). At that time INNX had grown to over 700 employees, had filed numerous patents, had put more than 50 highly innovative IVD products in the market and realized a yearly turnover of over 50 million euro. In 2001, Hugo Van Heuverswyn founded, together with 2 former INNX colleagues, BioMARIC, a new Belgian biotech company active in prevention and control of infectious diseases, where he acts as CEO until today. In addition to his private activities, Hugo Van Heuverswyn was also continuously involved in the creation of the biotechnology ecosystem in Flanders. For 18 years, from its inception in 1995 till 2013, he was Chairman of the Flemish Institute of Biotechnology (VIB), during which period he created, together with Rudy DeKeyser, flanders.bio (2003), the association of Flemish biotech companies where he is still serving as a board member, and in 2016 he co-founded Flanders Vaccine, a non-profit organization aiming to stimulate the translation of basic research into clinical applications in the field of vaccination and immunotherapy. At present his main interest goes to translational research, One Health and personalized medicine, particularly in the field of microbiota and infection and immunity.
Ghent University is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium.
The University of Antwerp is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is UAntwerp. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 students, which makes it the third-largest university in Flanders. The University of Antwerp is characterised by its high standards in education, internationally competitive research and entrepreneurial approach. It was founded in 2003 after the merger of three smaller universities.
VIB is a research institute located in Flanders, Belgium. It was founded by the Flemish government in 1995, and became a full-fledged institute on 1 January 1996. The main objective of VIB is to strengthen the excellence of Flemish life sciences research and to turn the results into new economic growth. VIB spends almost 80% of its budget on research activities, while almost 12% is spent on technology transfer activities and stimulating the creation of new businesses, in addition VIB spends approximately 2% on socio-economic activities. VIB is member of EU-LIFE, an alliance of leading life sciences research centres in Europe.
The Flemish Institute for Technological Research, is an independent Flemish research organisation that provides scientific advice and technological innovations that facilitate the transition to a sustainable society, and this in the areas of energy, chemistry, materials, health and land use.
Walter Fiers was a Belgian molecular biologist.
Jozef Stefaan "Jeff", Baron Schell was a Belgian molecular biologist.
Marc, Baron Van Montagu is a Belgian molecular biologist. He was full professor and director of the Laboratory of Genetics at the faculty of Sciences at Ghent University (Belgium) and scientific director of the genetics department of the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB). Together with Jozef Schell he founded the biotech company Plant Genetic Systems Inc. (Belgium) in 1982, of which he was scientific director and member of the board of directors. Van Montagu was also involved in founding the biotech company CropDesign, of which he was a board member from 1998 to 2004. He is president of the Public Research and Regulation Initiative (PRRI).
flanders.bio, founded in 2004, is the networking organisation for the life sciences sector in Flanders and represents and supports around 350 member companies. The key strategic objectives of flanders.bio are knowledge exchange and valorisation, human capital development, internationalization of the cluster activities and visibility, familiarization of the public with products derived from the sector and the further development of a supportive environment for the members of flanders.bio.
Gimv (Euronext Brussels: GIMB ) is a Belgian European investment company with experience in private equity and venture capital. Gimv is listed on Euronext Brussels and manages around 1.5 billion EUR invested in about 60 portfolio companies.
CropDesign is a biotech company located in Ghent, Belgium. The company develops a portfolio of agronomic traits for the global commercial seed markets. It has developed a technology platform to discover genetic traits for the improvement of corn, rice and other plants. Current managing director is Juergen Logemann.
Désiré, Baron Collen is a Belgian physician, chemist, biotechnology entrepreneur and life science investor. He made several discoveries in thrombosis, haemostasis and vascular biology in many of which serendipity played a significant role. His main achievement has been his role in the development of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) from a laboratory concept to a life-saving drug for dissolving blood clots causing acute myocardial infarction or acute ischemic stroke. Recombinant t-PA was produced and marketed by Genentech Inc as Activase and by Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH as Actilyse, and is considered biotechnology's first life saving drug.
Rudi Pauwels is a Belgian pharmacologist and biotech entrepreneur.
Rudy Dekeyser was until May 2012 the Managing Director of VIB. He was until May 2012 head of the technology transfer team of the institute. He obtained a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Ghent.
Erik Tambuyzer is a Belgian bio-engineer and businessman. He is Chairman of the Board of the Flemish Center for Medical Innovation (CMI).
Staf Van Reet is a Belgian scientist and businessman. Currently he is Managing Director of the biotech company Viziphar Biosciences BVBA, and member of the Board of Directors of Janssen Pharmaceutica and the VIB. He was succeeded as Chairman of FlandersBio by Johan Cardoen.
Marc Zabeau is a Belgian scientist and businessman.
Rudi Mariën is a Belgian scientist and businessman. He is chairman of the Belgian biotech company Innogenetics.
BIO.be, the Belgian Association for Bioindustries is a Belgian non-profit organization of companies and professionals involved in biotechnology, and those servicing the biotechnology community. The organization works on innovation and entrepreneurship in the biotech industry. The headquarters of the organization are located in Brussels. The chairman is Philippe Stas (AlgoNomics) and the Secretary General is Hugo Francq.
The Biotech Fund Flanders was founded by the Flemish government in 1994 as an instrument to support the creation of new companies, explicitly in biotechnology. It provides venture capital to biotech companies in Flanders (Belgium). The fund has 21.7 million euro of capital and is managed by the GIMV.
Ann Van Gysel is a Belgian scientist and CEO of MEDVIA, a healthcare cluster that supports innovation in Flanders, Belgium.