Belgium has climbed to second place in the European biotech industry, after Denmark, according to data from KBC Securities, released on Wednesday.
At the end of March 2023, Belgian companies in the sector had capitalised a total of €40.1 billion, the financial firm reported.
Despite the global market downturn last year, Belgium’s life sciences ecosystem remained resilient thanks to the “solid performance” of argenx and private biotech companies backed by venture capital.
With a market capitalisation of €40.1 billion, Belgian biotech companies are leading the way in Europe, just behind Denmark, buoyed in particular by argenx, whose market value has risen by almost 25% in less than a year, says the brokerage firm.
However, the situation for small biotech companies, capitalised at less than €1 billion, is more precarious. With a total market value of €1.6 billion, Belgium stumbles from fourth to seventh place in the European ranking. Economic and geopolitical uncertainties have put pressure on stock market valuations, affecting IPOs and follow-on offerings, KBC Securities notes.
The financial firm has nevertheless observed an increase in mergers and acquisitions on the market, which should stimulate investor appetite for the life sciences sector, it forecasts. International venture capitalists and pharmaceutical companies remain very interested in the life sciences sector in Belgium, as shown by recent financing deals, it adds.
The biotech ecosystem is experiencing an unprecedented wave of innovation, driven by artificial intelligence that is increasingly being integrated into the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, as well as recent advances with regard to Alzheimer’s disease, analysts at KBC Securities note.
