Following the online BioWin Day 2021, Ellion wanted to share with its comunity its motivation against the discussed challenges and opportunities within the future for our Life Sciences Ecosystem in Belgium.
Ellion has had the chance to attend the Biowin day, 2021 December edition. Essentially, the day was organized in two main parts. First of all the presentation of the four main challenges identified by the pharmaceutical ecosystem:
- Challenge 1: Cell & gene therapies: opportunities & challenges in Belgium and Europe
- Challenge 2: Rethinking innovation in biomanufacturing: challenges & opportunities
- Challenge 3: Smart use of patient data for R&I: are we ready?
- Challenge 4: Overcoming biotech talent scarcity: 3 European initiatives
Secondly, different round tables during the afternoon about key topics such as:
- Accelerating the development of robust bioprocesses by means of artificial intelligence and in silico models: The next level in the QbD strategy
- ESG and sustainable innovation: why is this the only way up for an enhanced performance?
- How can the Flemish and Walloon ecosystems mutually reinforce the Belgian leading position in biopharma?
Ellion has already thought and worked on these challenges months ago and they are fully integrated into its strategical vision, especially for 2022. We have the ambition to be the bridge between the education structures and the industry needs. How? By liaising directly with high school, universities, centres of excellence and by building links within our professional network.
- Challenge 1:
Cell & Gene Therapies (CGTs) are young but very promising area of the therapeutical solutions. In Belgium, the CGTs are in a positive momentum and several key actors are developing those medicines of the future. For Ellion, the challenge 1 and 4 are interconnected. Certainly, a smart approach would be to include the Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products in the educational pathway and give the opportunity to future talents to join Companies that involve energy in this area. We want to play an active role by giving sessions in educational structures about the actors and by increasing the talents visibility to the Companies. Germany and France have an interesting way to approach this, and it does inspire us: we will follow this efficient example. From an Environmental – Social – Governance (ESG) perspective, it is essential for us to contribute to our social mission by giving opportunities to the young, motivated students. And as a human-centric organization, we want to build the future with people, at their side.
- Challenge 2:
Innovation is at the same time the pathway and the goal. With increased complexity of regulations, technologies and knowledge management; the biomanufacturing is rapidly evolving. Recently, we have attended the Biomanufacturing & bioanalytics conference in Amsterdam (https://conferenceindex.org/event/intelligent-bioprocessing-summit-2021-november-amsterdam-nl ). It is crucial to be at the cutting edge of the innovation, aiming to bring value to people for their development because subsequently, our customers will beneficiate of this deep expertise. Ultimately, an organization with a strong knowledge management culture will cope with the innovation rate. This is why at Ellion, we will continue to invest into our members and we will promote the conferences attending and valuation.
- Challenge 4:
Lastly, according to us, the challenge about the patient data was seemingly present at all steps. Indeed, patient safety and wellness are shared priorities among the pharmaceutical ecosystem. Thanks to IT & cloud technologies, Humanity is generating more data than ever. Their management is so important, especially the one related to public health. Linking challenge 2 and 3, we are convinced that developing core skills regarding data science is a key for the future. This is why we have developed a partnership with Sagacify, expert in data science, aiming to bring cost effective and innovative digital solutions for our customers. Want to know about our offer? Just liaise with us or please visit this page: https://www.ellion.be/artificial-intelligence. Since its creation, Ellion put at the heart of her mission ESG criteria, such as CO2 impact. The digital opportunities are not only fancy stuffs, they can make a difference, and we want to be part this. At Ellion, one of our three core values is intrapreneurship. And this collaboration is a subtle example of the power of living our values: it is a fruit of a wish of several nest members and the opportunity offered by our network.
If you want further details, please follow the link:
https://biowin.org/2021/12/09/biowin-day-decembre-9-2021-2/