Dutch Life Sciences conference is Netherlands´ most established life sciences event. It has positioned itself as the premier annual meeting place for both Dutch and international players. The event brings together leading CEOs of biotech, pharma and medical devices companies, heads of R&D, academics, and life sciences investors from the healthcare sector for networking opportunities to promote the translation of inventions into e.g. therapies, medical devices and diagnostics distribution in and across the healthcare system. It provides a unique opportunity for discussions, panel presentations and product demonstrations and to meet new companies, paving the way for new business collaborations.
The conference will discuss 8 main topics, where ‘Scaling up: through innovations, partnerships and business strategies’ will be a consistent underlying theme. Our esteemed speakers and thought leaders will explore the latest trends, cutting-edge technologies and disruptive business strategies that are reshaping the life sciences landscape. Together, let´s unlock the full potential of scaling up, shaping a healthier and more sustainable future for all.
What to expect?
- Pitches from young companies active in the life sciences industry during the Investors Forum
- Announcement of winner Venture Challenge autumn edition 2024: Read more bellow.
- Sessions covering a.o. following topics:
- Impact Investing: How it helps the value proposition of entrepreneurs
- Should you stay independent as a medical device company, or not?
- Cell therapy: The investment landscape and clinical insights
- Strategies to extend runway and lowering costs in life sciences
- Meeting the sustainability challenge in life sciences
- Different experts as speakers, including Wiro Niessen (Captain of Science), Annemiek Verkammen (hollandbio) and many more!
- An excellent network to share ideas, create new partnerships and business opportunities.
Programme
The organisation keeps the right to make changes to the programme at any time.
08:00 Investors forum part 1 - breakfast session - Hosted by Johnson & Johnson Innovation
The investors forum is an exciting opportunity for those companies looking for equity capital and/or partnerships with companies and institutes across the life sciences value chain, from biotech, medtech and pharma companies to financiers and universities. The forum offers excellent opportunities for presenting your company or university to Venture Capitalists, corporate- and regional investment funds and to discuss your business strategy.
08:30 Registration and information desk open
08:30 Exhibition
Present your company, products, technology or service. Open from 08:30 till 18:30 hours.
09:15 Plenary opening programme Hosted by Leiden Bio Science Park
Welcome by our moderator Suzanne Spliethoff MSc. and official opening.
Opening by Esther Peters, Director Leiden Bio Science Park
Keynote: The power of mRNA: transforming healthcare beyond COVID-19 by Jolanda Crombach, Managing Director at Moderna.
In this presentation, Jolanda Crombach, Managing Director of Moderna Netherlands, will discuss how Moderna has evolved from over 12 years of R&D and the success of its COVID-19 mRNA vaccine into a multi-product company at the forefront of innovation. The foundation of Moderna is built on a key principle: if mRNA works as a medicine for one disease, it has the potential to work for many others. Jolanda will explain how mRNA technology —by instructing the body to create its own medicines— has the potential to address not only infectious diseases like COVID-19 and RSV but also cancer, rare diseases, and autoimmune disorders. Jolanda will provide a comprehensive overview of mRNA technology and its production process, illustrating how its rapid and flexible development capabilities are revolutionizing healthcare. She will also explain the pivotal role AI plays in driving innovation and e?iciency across Moderna’s R&D and wider operations. Additionally, Jolanda will touch on incorporating new technologies into the Dutch healthcare system. Finally, she will showcase how Moderna’s pipeline and strategic collaborations, including the mRNA Access program, are shaping the future of healthcare and amplifying the impact of mRNA technology.
Followed by a panel discussion with
- Jolanda Crombach, Managing Director at Moderna
- Annemiek Verkamman, Managing Director at hollandbio
- Sahar van Waalwijk van Doorn-Khosrovani, Pharmacist / Member of National Funder's Committee for Evaluation of Specialised Medicine & MDx at CZ and Associate Professor at LUMC
Venture Challenge Hosted by Health~Holland
The winner of the Venture Challenge Fall 2024 will be announced!
The Venture Challenge
The Venture Challenge is a 10-week programme to develop an initial idea – a breakthrough research result – into a solid business case. Participate and learn to build a customer value proposition, identify key risks and assumptions, develop a validation and de-risking strategy, build and pitch a Venture Plan and get connected to Life Sciences experts, investors and seasoned entrepreneurs.
Since its start in 2008, the Venture Challenge has proven to be the most successful startup programme in life sciences therapeutics, diagnostics and medical devices. See who participated in the previous Venture Challenge editions and read about the success of 15 years Venture Challenge . The Venture Challenge is organised as a collaboration between NWO and Health~Holland. in 2022 the European Commission selected the Venture Challenge as winner of the prestigious European Enterprise Promotion Award for its impact on improving the business environment for startups in Life Sciences. In 2024 LifeSciences@Work and the Venture Challenge were listed in the Financial Times as one of Europe's Leading Start-Up Hubs, scoring particularly well on coaching and network.
The Spring 2025 call for applications will open January 1st 2025, stay tuned for more info.
Practical info
Date: December 12, 2024 - 09:00-17:00
Location: CORPUS Congress Centre, Leiden Bio Science Park
Source: Dutch Life Sciences