How the Netherlands Became a Key Player for Vaccine Development
Vaccines have become a part of everyday conversation during the pandemic, but have an established legacy in the Dutch life sciences and health ecosystem.
The coronavirus pandemic has ushered in a new era of vaccine development worldwide, and the Netherlands is a hotbed of vaccine production and research. This is not by coincidence, as the Dutch have a rich history in life sciences, including vaccine development, which predates the COVID-19 pandemic by decades.
“Collaboration is part of the Dutch DNA. The collaborative spirit between academia, industry, government and end-users is inspiring and has led to breakthrough innovations in life sciences, including in the field of vaccines.” – Hans Schikan, Special Envoy for vaccines at the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport
Vaccine production in the Netherlands
Beyond the current vaccine juggernauts like Janssen and Lonza, the Netherlands is home to some of the largest and oldest pharmaceutical companies developing other vaccines. Abbott has been operating in the Netherlands for over 60 years and is now producing its influenza vaccine for South America in the Netherlands. Bilthoven Biologicals (BBio) has also played a large part in vaccine development, now being a crucial supplier of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) for the World Health Organization’s Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). An estimated 30% of vaccines produced globally are made with technology developed in Bilthoven, according to BBio.
Such success of vaccine development and related pharmaceutical breakthroughs and distribution in the Netherlands reflects the combined power of companies, researchers and institutions working together in the Dutch life sciences & health ecosystem.
Public-private life sciences & health partnerships
More than 300 public-private life sciences & health partnerships exist within the Netherlands, including several focused on developing vaccines against COVID-19. Janssen is one of the three largest private investors in innovation in the Netherlands, according to the annual R&D Top 30 of Technisch Weekblad, but they are not the only vaccine provider bolstering promising results in COVID-19 research.
Netherlands-based Intravacc is one of the world’s leading companies for translational vaccinology. The company went public in 2021 with four COVID-19 vaccine candidates of its own in clinical trials and available for licensure. Additionally, Batavia Biosciences – also in Leiden – is working with RocketVax, a subsidiary of Swiss Rockets AG, to develop a vector-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The contract manufacturing organization (CMO) received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is looking to set up a facility in the Netherlands for fast, small batch vaccine development.
Companies have forged partnerships in the Netherlands as recently as March 2021, with HALIX signing an agreement to commercially manufacture AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and WACKER now planning to begin production of CureVac’s mRNA-based vaccine. At the moment, three out of the four currently-approved COVID-19 vaccines are produced in the Netherlands.
“The density and connectedness of the Dutch life sciences & health ecosystem has fostered deep ties between companies, academic researchers and government. Looking back, this helped a great deal in ramping up the available capacity for production of vaccines.”— Gerard Schouw, Director of the Association Innovative Medicines
Continuation of approach
And as new variants of the coronavirus appear, the Netherlands’ life sciences and health sector is ready to respond. Reflecting on lessons learned from COVID, the Dutch are putting their heads together to form a Deltaplan Pandemic Preparedness and Response in order to tackle future pandemics even faster. Meanwhile, more labs, cold storage facilities and production sites are being built throughout the country and there continues to be plenty of room for new companies.
Source: Invest In Holland
