Ghent - 9 May, 2014. On Thursday, May 8, 2014, FlandersBio organized the 10th edition of its annual life sciences conference Knowledge for Growth in Ghent. Over 1,100 participants and more than 130 companies rallied behind the theme of Knowledge for Growth 2014: Biotech for society 2024: what will be the key societal challenges in 2024 and how will the life sciences sector help to address them?
To celebrate the opening of the tenth edition of Knowledge for Growth, Benedikt Timmerman, CEO of therapeutic cancer vaccine developer Genticel, was invited to open the market on Euronext Brussels. Genticel has recently been admitted to listing on Euronext Brussels and Paris, and thus enjoys the strengths of both markets in the biotech sector. He was joined by Henk Joos, Managing Director of FlandersBio, Vincent Van Dessel, CEO of Euronext Brussels and Alain Baetens, Head of Listings of Euronext Brussels.
Vincent Van Dessel, CEO of Euronext Brussels, said, "The dual listing of Genticel on our French and Belgian markets is an excellent example of our leadership in biotech. Genticel is a successful French company with strong Belgian roots that fully utilizes the benefits of the exchange to reach its strategic goals”.
“Euronext Brussels is pleased to be associated with FlandersBio for the largest European Biotech Conference in Ghent” said Alain Baetens, Head of Listings of Euronext Brussels. "It underscores our commitment to the sector and leverages on the leading sector franchise listed on Euronext Markets”.
Benedikt Timmerman, founder and CEO of Genticel, said: “As someone from Ghent, it is a real thrill to be able to celebrate Genticel’s IPO here today. The double listing in Paris and Brussels allows us to commit to our Belgian investors, operations, and partners. We now have the financial resources that we need to develop our portfolio of candidate therapeutic vaccines, which are designed to give therapeutic options to women carrying the human papillomavirus and hereby reduce the number of cases of cervix carcinoma.”
Henk Joos, Managing Director of FlandersBio, highlights the continued growth of the sector: "Meanwhile, the Flemish cluster counts 255 companies and organizations. Biotechnology has become an integral part of our daily lives. The further development of an international investment platform for our companies and the further development of a growing talent pool, are the two main objectives for FlandersBio ".