Op Europees niveau neemt de aandacht voor vaccinatie toe, met name door de dalende vaccinatiegraad en uitbraken van mazelen in enkele lidstaten. Europa presenteerde twee acties om het tij te keren: een Joint Action on Vaccination (JAV) op uitvoeringsniveau en een meer beleidsmatig voorstel voor een Council Recommendation.
De JAV gaat in september 2018 van start. Volgens onze Europese bronnen zijn de werkpakketten uit de JAV gericht op twijfel over vaccinatie, R&D prioriteiten, vaccinaanbod en -gereedheid, immunisatie informatiesystemen en de mogelijkheden voor een meer universeel basisvaccinatieschema. Voor uitvoering van de JAV is 3 jaar uitgetrokken. Het RIVM is namens Nederland bij alle JAV activiteiten betrokken.
Het succes van zowel de JAV als de Council Recommendation staat of valt met participatie vanuit Nederland en andere lidstaten. Europa heeft namelijk geen mandaat op vaccinatie. HollandBIO roept Nederland daarom op om werk te maken van deze Europese steun in de rug.
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svghollandbio2018-07-06 18:24:092023-09-27 16:40:36Europa op de bres voor vaccins← #nieuws
Nunhems Netherlands b.v., gespecialiseerd in groenterassen, heeft $ 119 083 betaald aan het Benefit-sharing Fonds van de International Treaty. Dit komt overeen met 0,77% van de omzet van tien groenterassen, die ontwikkeld zijn op basis van o.a. materiaal verkregen van twee genenbanken, waaronder het Centrum voor Genetische Bronnen, Nederland (CGN).
In 2010 heeft Nunhems Netherlands b.v. een Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) ondertekend voor de ontvangst van materiaal uit de CGN collectie. De SMTA is ontwikkeld voor de uitwisseling van plantaardige genetische bronnen die deel uitmaken van het Multilaterale Systeem voor Toegang en Verdeling van Voordelen van het Internationale verdrag inzake Plantgenetische Hulpbronnen. Dit systeem is zo ontworpen dat opbrengsten die voortkomen uit het gebruik van genetische bronnen gedeeld worden met boeren in ontwikkelingslanden via het Benefit-sharing Fund.
Zoals veel genenbanken, gebruikt het CGN de SMTA voor de uitwisseling van al het materiaal in haar collectie. Onlangs heeft Nunhems Netherlands $ 119 083 betaald aan het Benefit-sharing Fund. Dit is 0,77% van de opbrengst van de verkoop van tien rassen die ontwikkeld zijn m.b.v. materiaal afkomstig uit de collecties van het CGN en de Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Duitsland. De rassen zijn gepatenteerd in de VS.
“We hope that this is the onset of the harvest period and that in the future more use-base payments may be expected from us, but also from various other privately held breeding companies,” zei Peter Ogg, juridisch adviseur bij Nunhems Netherlands b.v.
Volgens Theo van Hintum, hoofd van CGN-Plant, laat de betaling zien hoe belangrijk genenbank accessies zijn voor de plantenveredeling. “Voorheen was het onmogelijk de impact van ons materiaal te kwantificeren, en dat is het nog steeds. Maar deze eerste betaling geeft op zijn minst een idee.” Hij voegt toe: “En natuurlijk, het belangrijkste is dat deze contributie aan het Fonds een positieve signaal geeft over de bereidwilligheid van de zaadindustrie om de winsten uit hun veredelingsactiviteiten te delen, niet alleen via hun producten en input in-kind aan genenbanken, maar ook in klinkende munt”
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svghollandbio2018-07-06 17:39:012018-07-10 17:41:42Eerste Royalty’s betaald aan het Benefit-sharing Fonds van de Treaty gebaseerd op CGN materiaal← #nieuws
Cleara Biotech, a Netherlands-based biopharmaceutical company, announced today the creation of three public-private partnerships to discover and develop new therapeutics. Cleara has partnered with Dr. Peter de Keizer from the University Medical Center in Utrecht, Dr. Marco Demaria from the University Medical Center in Groningen, and Dr. Tobias Madl from the Medical University of Graz to engage in its discovery operations. Cleara’s initial funding was led by founding investor Apollo Ventures, a life sciences venture capital firm and company builder working across Europe and North America.
Cleara is a preclinical R&D company engaged in the creation of therapeutics targeting the unique biology of senescent cells to treat age-related pathologies and therapy-resistant cancer. Senescent cells are rare cells that accumulate in our bodies as we age and contribute to the aging process. Removing these cells has been shown to reverse signs of aging including muscle and hair loss, cancer development, energy levels, and even increase healthy lifespan of mice.
Cellular senescence is a remarkably new field of study, and some of the world’s top senescent cell researchers have come together in Cleara to translate their scientific work on mice into human therapeutics. “These partnerships of top-notch academic institutions with drug development efforts will allow us to accelerate clinical development of our lead programs and provides an opportunity to treat multiple diseases by eliminating a patient’s senescent cells,” said Dr. de Keizer.
“Senescent cells contribute to many different diseases of aging: muscle loss, kidney disease, heart disease, and even cancers,” said Dr. Demaria. “That’s why mice live longer and healthier when we eliminate their senescent cells, they stop dying of the diseases that they would otherwise suffer from.” The laboratories of de Keizer, Madl and Demaria received worldwide attention with results showing senescent cells are a source for therapy resistance in cancer [1] and the development of the prospectively designed FOXO4-based anti-senescence drugs, which can effectively target signs of aging in mice [2]. “We are excited to team-up within Cleara as this is a natural evolution of our aim to benefit mankind from the successes from years of fundamental research running in our academic labs.”
“Cleara scientists are the world leaders in advancing our understanding of the basic biology of senescent cells, and we have used that understanding to create the most potent and selective anti-senescence molecules yet discovered,” said Dr. James Peyer, Managing Partner of Apollo Ventures. “We are incredibly excited to advance the work at Cleara and our great institutional collaborators. Senescent cell elimination represents one of the most promising targets today in our fight against the diseases of aging.”
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svghollandbio2018-07-06 17:20:342018-07-10 17:29:19Cleara Biotech Announces Three Collaborations to Develop New Therapeutics Targeting Senescent Cells and Cancer← #nieuws
Dutch Biotech event 2018: a perfect day for biotech
Blessed with awesome speakers, a great audience and wonderful weather, HollandBIO’s Dutch Biotech Event 2018 was a big success. Nearly 200 biotech professionals gathered to be inspired by leading biotech entrepreneurs, to meet peers and to upgrade their professional skills during hands-on workshops.
In her opening speech, HollandBIO’s Annemiek Verkamman stressed the importance of biotechnology for our society. Biotech contributes to no less than 11 of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, for example to Good health and well-being and Climate action. Unfortunately, authorities are struggling to keep up with the innovative nature and drive of our sector. Through active and effective advocacy, HollandBIO aims to remove obstacles that prevent biotech frontrunners to thrive in a global market. And thanks to the support of our growing member base, HollandBIO’s impact is on the increase too.
Open for collaboration –David Nicolson
The first keynote speech was delivered by a true biotech veteran, David Nicolson. As the EVP and Chief R&D officer at Allergen, he gave an impressive overview of Allergan’s many and most recent research areas. Allergen has all types of partnerships with biotech companies, on a broad range of health. And the company is ever looking for more collaborations. But, for those active in immune-oncology, David’s presentation came with a warning. He urged the audience to work on different drug areas as well: “… Or we’ll be lemmings on a cliff.”
Hybridize wins the VENTURE CHALLENGE 2018
Chrétien Herben, Director at LifeSciences@Work, announced Hybridize as the winner of the Venture Challenge 2018 spring edition. In addition to flowers and a big round of applause, the prize included a cheque worth €25.000. Hybridize is a LUMC-spinoff, recently founded by Anton Jan van Zonneveld and Jurrien Prins. The company develops a RNA treatment against BK virus, which major cause for severe complications in kidney transplant patients.
VarmX completes €12.5m Series A funding
Hybridize wasn’t the only company with a reason to celebrate. During the plenary program, Colja Laane and Hans Schikan had the honor to announce the completion of a series A funding for VarmX, a company co-led by BioGeneration Ventures InnovationQuarter. VarmX aims to turn snake venom into treatment and will use the €12.5 million to bring their company to the next level.
A radically new way to treat disease – Sebastian Nijman
The keynote of Scenic Biotech’s founder Sebastian Nijman addressed the potency of evolution-inspired medicine. Scenic Biotech is applying a novel approach to target discovery by harnessing genetic suppressors. Sebastian explained his fascination: “Among us, there are people that should be sick, based on their genes, but they are not.” In these people, other genes might be turned on which suppress disease. Scenic’s genetics platform Cell-Seq allows the discovery of genetic suppressors for future target development, yielding radically new ways to treat disease.
In biotech, simple often is difficult enough – Arthur Lahr
Bringing his rich experience to one of The Netherlands most advanced biotech companies, Arthur Lahr took on the job of CEO at Kiadis Pharma. The company’s lead product, ATIR101, a patient-specific immunotherapy, is designed to reduce the risk of Graft Versus Host Disease and relapse after stem cell transplantation. If all goes according to plan, the product will be launched in the EU in the second half of 2019. Although the future of a biotech is always uncertain, Arthur felt attracted to Kiadis because of the relative simplicity and elegance of its lead product. A perfect match to one of the most important lessons he learned in his career: in biotech, simple often is difficult enough. Simple as that.
WORKSHOP – Trends in deal-making
Deal-making is a hot topic in the biotech industry. Attracting almost half of the event’s participants, the deal-making workshop confirmed this once again. The presentation of M. Ventures’ Roel Bulthuis immediately led to a passionate discussion about trends in deal-making and the role of VCs, emerging biotechs and established biopharmaceutical companies. One of the session’s hot topics: wearables. Although in most cases used for personal use, wearables can really change the way of gathering clinical data. And with more and more VCs seeking a piece of the pie, this trend will open up opportunities for biotech companies all over the world.
WORKSHOP – Frontiers in science
Guided by Genmab’s Martine van Vugt, Arie Baak (Euretos) and Peter de Keizer (UMC Utrecht & Cleara Biotech) shared recent scientific developments with a possible profound effect on therapy development. Euretos has brought Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the level where it not only analyses data, it provides biological evidence as well. Peter the Keizer’s research identified senescent cells as a key factor in aging and cancer. Peter recently founded the company Cleara Biotech which discovered a way to eliminate senescent cells by steering them into apoptosis. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. But at HollandBIO, we can’t wait to see the full impact of these frontiers in science.
WORKSHOP – The patient’s perspective in the driver’s seat
To develop products and treatments which are truly focused on the patient, the patient must be involved from day one. But this is easier said than done. Maryze explained that people often forget to think about what it takes for a patient, for example to come over and share their experiences. That clearly needs to change, because it often takes a lot. During this interactive session everyone shared their experiences on bringing patient engagement into practice. It turned out to be a educative session where everyone could learn from each other’s best and worst practices.
WORKSHOP – How to sell your story
What it the first thing that to mind when you hear DSM? Yeast? Too bad. Biotech companies often start with what they are doing. Instead, to sell your story, you should start your story with why you are doing what you do. The “why” is the sole purpose of a company’s existence. The purpose of DSM is to create brighter lives for people today and generations to come. How? By delivering innovative business solutions for nutrition, health and sustainable living. During this workshop, Ellen Oerlemans urged the public to think about the story of their company. And, lucky for our sector, each and every biotech company has a strong story to tell, as biotech contributes to 11 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
FIRESIDE CHAT – Lessons in leadership
During the last session of the day, HollandBIO chairman Markwin Velders invited seasoned biotech entrepreneur Hans Schikan to unravel the secrets of successful leadership. In a cosy and laidback setting, Hans shared the ups and downs of his impressive career. After studying pharmacy, he gained experience at Organon. At a junior position, you have to do a lot of work yourself. Moving to leadership position, you need to learn to use your team to get things done. Driven by his inborn high dose of enthusiasm, Hans eventually made it to leadership positions at Organon, Genzyme and Prosensa. His tips for the audience: lead by example, never despair, just make it work, and bring a healthy dose of humour.
BEERS & BBQ
The weather, the view, the beers and BBQ delivered a perfect ending to a perfect day, offering our guests plenty of opportunity to network. HollandBIO is already looking forward to next year’s edition!
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NH20180629-103.jpg11522048hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svghollandbio2018-07-06 14:19:582019-07-03 18:03:53Dutch Biotech event 2018: a perfect day for biotech← #nieuws
Eisai and Biogen announced positive topline results from the Phase II study with BAN2401, an anti-amyloid beta protofibril antibody, in 856 patients with early Alzheimer’s disease. The study achieved statistical significance on key predefined endpoints evaluating efficacy at 18 months on slowing progression in Alzheimer’s Disease Composite Score (ADCOMS) and on reduction of amyloid accumulated in the brain as measured using amyloid-PET (positron emission tomography).
Study 201 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01767311) is a placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group, randomized study in 856 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or mild Alzheimer’s dementia (collectively known as early Alzheimer’s disease) with confirmed amyloid pathology in the brain. Efficacy was evaluated at 18 months by predefined conventional statistics on ADCOMS, which combines items from the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog), the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) scale and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) to enable sensitive detection of changes in early AD symptoms. Patients were randomized to five dose regimens, 2.5 mg/kg biweekly, 5 mg/kg monthly, 5 mg/kg biweekly, 10 mg/kg monthly and 10 mg/kg biweekly, or placebo.
Topline results of the final analysis of the study demonstrated a statistically significant slowing of disease progression on the key clinical endpoint (ADCOMS) after 18 months of treatment in patients receiving the highest treatment dose (10 mg/kg biweekly) as compared to placebo. Results of amyloid PET analyses at 18 months, including reduction in amyloid PET standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) and amyloid PET image visual read of subjects converting from positive to negative for amyloid in the brain, were also statistically significant at this dose. Dose-dependent changes from baseline were observed across the PET results and the clinical endpoints. Further, the highest treatment dose of BAN2401 began to show statistically significant clinical benefit as measured by ADCOMS as early as 6 months including at 12 months.
BAN2401 demonstrated an acceptable tolerability profile through 18 months of study drug administration. The most common treatment emergent adverse events were infusion-related reactions and Amyloid Related Imaging Abnormalities (ARIA). Infusion related reactions were mostly mild to moderate in severity. Incidence of ARIA-E (edema) was not more than 10% in any of the treatment arms, and less than 15% in patients with APOE4 at the highest dose per the study protocol safety and reporting procedures.
Detailed results of the study will be presented at future academic conferences.
“The 18-month results of the BAN2401 trial are impressive and provide important support for the amyloid hypothesis,” said Jeff Cummings, M.D., founding director, Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. “I look forward to seeing the full data set shared with the broader Alzheimer’s community as we advance against this devastating disease.”
“This is the first late-stage anti-amyloid antibody study to successfully achieve statistically significant results at 18 months, further validating the amyloid hypothesis,” said Lynn Kramer, M.D., Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Medical Officer, Neurology Business Group, Eisai. “We will discuss these very encouraging results with regulatory authorities to determine the best path forward. We continue to work towards the goal of delivering BAN2401 to patients and healthcare professionals as early as possible.”
“The prospect of being able to offer meaningful disease-modifying therapies to individuals suffering from this terrible disease is both exciting and humbling,” said Alfred Sandrock, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer at Biogen. “These BAN2401 18-month data offer important insights in the investigation of potential treatment options for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and underscores that neurodegenerative diseases may not be as intractable as they once seemed.”
As reported in December 2017, the study did not achieve its primary outcome measure which was designed to enable a potentially more rapid entry into Phase III development based on Bayesian analysis at 12 months of treatment. Upon the final analysis at 18 months using predefined conventional statistical method, the study did demonstrate a statistically significant slowing of disease progression on the key clinical endpoint (ADCOMS) after 12 months of treatment in patients receiving the highest treatment dose (10 mg/kg biweekly) as compared to placebo.
This release discusses investigational uses of an agent in development and is not intended to convey conclusions about efficacy or safety. There is no guarantee that any investigational uses of such product will successfully complete clinical development or gain health authority approval.
Celgene has presented Phase III data showing a significant progression-free survival (PFS) benefit in patients with multiple myeloma taking a triple combination therapy of Imnovid, Velcade and low-dose dexamethasone.
According to results of the Phase III OPTIMISMM trial, adding Imnovid (pomalidomide) to Velcade (bortezomib) and low-dose dexamethasone significantly extended PFS to 11.2 months compared to 7.10 months for those taking the latter two alone, equating to a reduction in the risk of disease progression or death by 39 percent.
Overall response rate, one of the study’s secondary endpoints, was also significantly higher in the triple therapy arm at 82.2 percent versus 50.0 percent, while time to treatment response was shorter (0.9 months versus 1.4 months), complete response was higher (15.7 percent versus 4.0 percent), and duration of response was longer (13.7 months versus 10.9 months).
OPTIMISMM is the only Phase III trial to report data with a triplet combination in patients who have all received prior Revlimid (lenalidomide) therapy. In the UK, over 16,000 patients have been treated with lenalidomide since 2009, and this represents a patient population for which there is a growing unmet medical need, Celgene said.
“Results from OPTIMISMM are promising and show the potential of pomalidomide in combination with other therapies, earlier in the myeloma treatment pathway,” noted Dr Neil Rabin, consultant haematologist at University College London Hospitals.
“There is a growing unmet need for those patients who have been treated previously with lenalidomide, and combination therapies are key to meet that need. These data are therefore very encouraging.”
A total grant sum of EUR 2 million has been awarded to a multidisciplinary EUROSTARS consortium. The EUROSTARS project is titled “Treatment Response Monitoring for Cancer Immunotherapies Using Immune Repertoire Analysis” and named IMMUNOMONITOR.
This European consortium consists of five collaborating partners: ENPICOM (Netherlands), a bioinformatics and software engineering company; Biomax Informatics (Germany), a knowledge management solution company; Ultimovacs (Norway), a pharmaceutical company developing innovative vaccines for treatment of cancer; the lab of Prof. Binder of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf or UKE (Germany); and OSE Immunotherapeutics (France), a biotechnology company developing innovative immunotherapies for immune activation and regulation in the fields of immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases.
ENPICOM develops a T-cell/B-cell receptor (TCR/BCR) repertoire immunosequencing data analysis platform to support the development, patient stratification and treatment monitoring of immunotherapies. The goal of the IMMUNOMONITOR project is to validate the data analysis and visualization software solution for treatment response monitoring of cancer vaccines based on a unique approach to over-time immune repertoire sequencing data analysis.
While a growing number of immunotherapies have been approved, no adequate diagnostic tests are available to capture the desired immune response and to monitor if the therapy is effective in an individual patient. The consortium is addressing this unmet medical need with a software solution to capture and monitor a patient’s dynamic immune response over time using blood samples. Advances in Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) allow taking ‘snapshots’ of a patient’s immune response by sequencing DNA or RNA from the patient’s immune cells (i.e. immune repertoire). The enormous diversity of immune repertoires results in a staggering amount of data, which cannot be handled by existing tools for NGS data analysis.
In the IMMUNOMONITOR project, advanced bioinformatics algorithms will be developed using NGS big data analysis to generate an ‘immune status fingerprint’ for monitoring cancer vaccines. The clinical validation studies will include two cancer vaccines tested in pancreatic cancer, lung cancer and malignant melanoma developed by OSE Immunotherapeutics and Ultimovacs, respectively.
Jos Lunenberg, CEO of ENPICOM, comments: “The collaboration will officially start today with a kick-off meeting in the Netherlands. We are extremely excited and happy to be working with this dedicated and highly motivated group of experts. This project is a great example of how a multi-disciplinary approach to healthcare can accelerate the process of translating technological innovation faster to patient benefits.” Professor Mascha Binder (UKE) is very pleased too and adds: “TCR/BCR repertoire data analysis is a new and powerful technology to analyze the immune status of patients and guide immunotherapies. Within this project we aim to prove its true value in treatment responses to cancer vaccines”.
The EUROSTARS program is a funding and support program, aimed at R&D-performing SMEs that wish to exploit the benefits that come with international collaboration. EUROSTARS applications pass through a highly-competitive selection process, being scrutinized by a panel of international research and business experts, to ensure that only the best business ideas and strongest partnerships get the support they need. It has been repeatedly shown that EUROSTARS helps businesses grown their teams, discover new expertise – and attract private investors. Within two years of completion the product of research should be ready for market introduction. The IMMUNOMONITOR consortium built and led by ENPICOM ranked number 52 in a total of 375 submissions.
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svghollandbio2018-07-05 17:12:302018-07-10 17:29:41EUROSTARS grants project funding for IMMUNOMONITOR consortium led by ENPICOM← #nieuws
The globalization of clinical trials continues to be on the rise, leading to a plethora of regulatory and operational challenges for the Life Sciences industry. Aon’s 6th edition Clinical Trials Risk Map highlights clinical trials insurance regulations and complexities for over 80 countries throughout the world leveraging Aon’s global network and clinical trials expertise. Aon’s global network is positioned to help life sciences companies efficiently and effectively secure international clinical trials coverage that complies with the regulatory requirements of individual countries, ultimately minimizing the risk of financial volatility.
Morgen start de Topsector Life Sciences & Health (Health~Holland) het nieuwe initiatief GROZ. GROZ staat voor de kanteling van onze gezondheidszorg en is een nationale samenwerking op het gebied van de maatschappelijke uitdaging Gezondheid en Zorg. Binnen GROZ slaan burgers, zorgprofessionals, ondernemers, wetenschappers, financiers en overheid de handen ineen, zowel op lokaal als nationaal niveau. Het blijft niet uitsluitend bij praten. Alle partijen werken samen aan concrete zorgvernieuwingen met als doel een vitaal functionerende samenleving met een gezonde economie.
De kracht van burgerinitiatieven
Regionale initiatieven door én voor burgers leiden tot innovatieve, lokaal gedragen oplossingen voor uitdagingen in de gezondheidszorg. Burgers weten zich daarbij steeds meer gesteund door hun gemeente, zorgaanbieders, lokale GGD en ondernemers. Krachtige voorbeelden zijn Vitaal Vechtdal, Austerlitz Zorgt en Stichting Gezondheidscentra Nijkerk. Hoe kunnen dit soort initiatieven ook elders in Nederland de gezondheidszorg kantelen?
Startsein voor GROZ
Meer en meer zal de behoefte van burgers centraal staan in het gezondheidszorgsysteem. Daarom start de eerste GROZ bijeenkomst op 4 juli met burgerinitiatieven. Zij komen bijeen om elkaar aan de hand van tien concrete succesvoorwaarden te informeren en inspireren. Vervolgens bepalen de partijen gezamenlijk wat er vanuit andere stakeholders nodig is om deze burgerinitiatieven succesvol te laten groeien.
Werken aan de maatschappelijke uitdaging Gezondheid en Zorg Vanuit de behoeften die de burgerinitiatieven op 4 juli ophalen, organiseert de Topsector LSH in de tweede helft van 2018 nog een drietal bijeenkomsten met gezondheidszorgprofessionals, ondernemers en investeerders en financiers. Hier volgen de thema´s mankracht, het veranderde aanbod binnen bedrijven en financieringsstructuren elkaar op. GROZ wil hiermee een domino-effect creëren waardoor partijen gezamenlijk in beweging komen voor de maatschappelijke uitdaging Gezondheid en Zorg.
De Topsector LSH en haar coalitiegenoten geven met GROZ het startsein voor een nationale transformatie van de gezondheidszorg, waar burgers, kwaliteit, toegankelijkheid en betaalbaarheid voorop staan.
Boeren en aardappeltelers toonden afgelopen week vol trots hun producten aan het publiek tijdens de Bildtse Aardappelweken, aldus de Nieuwe Oogst van 30 juni. Niet alleen de aardappelen zelf zijn populair, ook het Nederlandse pootgoed vindt gretig aftrek in het buitenland. Dit komt voornamelijk door de goede rassen en exportlogistiek van de Nederlandse sector. Om deze positie te behouden is snel in kunnen spelen op veranderingen van levensbelang. Voor het vinden van oplossingen voor ziekten, stress en droogte willen de aardappeltelers daarom graag de moderne veredelingsmethoden kunnen inzetten. Helaas houdt belemmerende wetgeving dat nu nog tegen. HollandBIO hoopt daarom dat de uitspraak van het Europese Hof op 25 juli daar eindelijk verandering in brengt.
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svghollandbio2018-07-03 19:20:222018-07-16 14:23:02Boeren en aardappeltelers zien toekomst voor moderne veredelingsmethoden
Europa op de bres voor vaccins
Gezondheid op maatOp Europees niveau neemt de aandacht voor vaccinatie toe, met name door de dalende vaccinatiegraad en uitbraken van mazelen in enkele lidstaten. Europa presenteerde twee acties om het tij te keren: een Joint Action on Vaccination (JAV) op uitvoeringsniveau en een meer beleidsmatig voorstel voor een Council Recommendation.
De JAV gaat in september 2018 van start. Volgens onze Europese bronnen zijn de werkpakketten uit de JAV gericht op twijfel over vaccinatie, R&D prioriteiten, vaccinaanbod en -gereedheid, immunisatie informatiesystemen en de mogelijkheden voor een meer universeel basisvaccinatieschema. Voor uitvoering van de JAV is 3 jaar uitgetrokken. Het RIVM is namens Nederland bij alle JAV activiteiten betrokken.
Na de aankondiging van de JAV volgde het voorstel voor een Council Recommendation. Dit omvat maar liefst 25 aanbevelingen voor de EC en/of de lidstaten voor een beter samenwerking bij de bestrijding van vaccineerbare aandoeningen. Het Ministerie van VWS en minister Blok reageerden positief kritisch op de Europese Council Recommendation. Nederland zet in op prioritering van de 25 aanbevelingen uit het voorstel. Daarna zal de regering per aanbeveling bekijken of en hoe deze in het nationaal beleid past.
Het succes van zowel de JAV als de Council Recommendation staat of valt met participatie vanuit Nederland en andere lidstaten. Europa heeft namelijk geen mandaat op vaccinatie. HollandBIO roept Nederland daarom op om werk te maken van deze Europese steun in de rug.
Eerste Royalty’s betaald aan het Benefit-sharing Fonds van de Treaty gebaseerd op CGN materiaal
Voedsel en materialenNunhems Netherlands b.v., gespecialiseerd in groenterassen, heeft $ 119 083 betaald aan het Benefit-sharing Fonds van de International Treaty. Dit komt overeen met 0,77% van de omzet van tien groenterassen, die ontwikkeld zijn op basis van o.a. materiaal verkregen van twee genenbanken, waaronder het Centrum voor Genetische Bronnen, Nederland (CGN).
In 2010 heeft Nunhems Netherlands b.v. een Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) ondertekend voor de ontvangst van materiaal uit de CGN collectie. De SMTA is ontwikkeld voor de uitwisseling van plantaardige genetische bronnen die deel uitmaken van het Multilaterale Systeem voor Toegang en Verdeling van Voordelen van het Internationale verdrag inzake Plantgenetische Hulpbronnen. Dit systeem is zo ontworpen dat opbrengsten die voortkomen uit het gebruik van genetische bronnen gedeeld worden met boeren in ontwikkelingslanden via het Benefit-sharing Fund.
Zoals veel genenbanken, gebruikt het CGN de SMTA voor de uitwisseling van al het materiaal in haar collectie. Onlangs heeft Nunhems Netherlands $ 119 083 betaald aan het Benefit-sharing Fund. Dit is 0,77% van de opbrengst van de verkoop van tien rassen die ontwikkeld zijn m.b.v. materiaal afkomstig uit de collecties van het CGN en de Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Duitsland. De rassen zijn gepatenteerd in de VS.
“We hope that this is the onset of the harvest period and that in the future more use-base payments may be expected from us, but also from various other privately held breeding companies,” zei Peter Ogg, juridisch adviseur bij Nunhems Netherlands b.v.
Volgens Theo van Hintum, hoofd van CGN-Plant, laat de betaling zien hoe belangrijk genenbank accessies zijn voor de plantenveredeling. “Voorheen was het onmogelijk de impact van ons materiaal te kwantificeren, en dat is het nog steeds. Maar deze eerste betaling geeft op zijn minst een idee.” Hij voegt toe: “En natuurlijk, het belangrijkste is dat deze contributie aan het Fonds een positieve signaal geeft over de bereidwilligheid van de zaadindustrie om de winsten uit hun veredelingsactiviteiten te delen, niet alleen via hun producten en input in-kind aan genenbanken, maar ook in klinkende munt”
Bron: WUR
Cleara Biotech Announces Three Collaborations to Develop New Therapeutics Targeting Senescent Cells and Cancer
InnovatieklimaatCleara Biotech, a Netherlands-based biopharmaceutical company, announced today the creation of three public-private partnerships to discover and develop new therapeutics. Cleara has partnered with Dr. Peter de Keizer from the University Medical Center in Utrecht, Dr. Marco Demaria from the University Medical Center in Groningen, and Dr. Tobias Madl from the Medical University of Graz to engage in its discovery operations. Cleara’s initial funding was led by founding investor Apollo Ventures, a life sciences venture capital firm and company builder working across Europe and North America.
Cleara is a preclinical R&D company engaged in the creation of therapeutics targeting the unique biology of senescent cells to treat age-related pathologies and therapy-resistant cancer. Senescent cells are rare cells that accumulate in our bodies as we age and contribute to the aging process. Removing these cells has been shown to reverse signs of aging including muscle and hair loss, cancer development, energy levels, and even increase healthy lifespan of mice.
Cellular senescence is a remarkably new field of study, and some of the world’s top senescent cell researchers have come together in Cleara to translate their scientific work on mice into human therapeutics. “These partnerships of top-notch academic institutions with drug development efforts will allow us to accelerate clinical development of our lead programs and provides an opportunity to treat multiple diseases by eliminating a patient’s senescent cells,” said Dr. de Keizer.
“Senescent cells contribute to many different diseases of aging: muscle loss, kidney disease, heart disease, and even cancers,” said Dr. Demaria. “That’s why mice live longer and healthier when we eliminate their senescent cells, they stop dying of the diseases that they would otherwise suffer from.” The laboratories of de Keizer, Madl and Demaria received worldwide attention with results showing senescent cells are a source for therapy resistance in cancer [1] and the development of the prospectively designed FOXO4-based anti-senescence drugs, which can effectively target signs of aging in mice [2]. “We are excited to team-up within Cleara as this is a natural evolution of our aim to benefit mankind from the successes from years of fundamental research running in our academic labs.”
“Cleara scientists are the world leaders in advancing our understanding of the basic biology of senescent cells, and we have used that understanding to create the most potent and selective anti-senescence molecules yet discovered,” said Dr. James Peyer, Managing Partner of Apollo Ventures. “We are incredibly excited to advance the work at Cleara and our great institutional collaborators. Senescent cell elimination represents one of the most promising targets today in our fight against the diseases of aging.”
Source: Business Wire
Dutch Biotech event 2018: a perfect day for biotech
Hollandbio, UitgelichtDutch Biotech event 2018: a perfect day for biotech
Blessed with awesome speakers, a great audience and wonderful weather, HollandBIO’s Dutch Biotech Event 2018 was a big success. Nearly 200 biotech professionals gathered to be inspired by leading biotech entrepreneurs, to meet peers and to upgrade their professional skills during hands-on workshops.
In her opening speech, HollandBIO’s Annemiek Verkamman stressed the importance of biotechnology for our society. Biotech contributes to no less than 11 of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, for example to Good health and well-being and Climate action. Unfortunately, authorities are struggling to keep up with the innovative nature and drive of our sector. Through active and effective advocacy, HollandBIO aims to remove obstacles that prevent biotech frontrunners to thrive in a global market. And thanks to the support of our growing member base, HollandBIO’s impact is on the increase too.
Open for collaboration – David Nicolson
The first keynote speech was delivered by a true biotech veteran, David Nicolson. As the EVP and Chief R&D officer at Allergen, he gave an impressive overview of Allergan’s many and most recent research areas. Allergen has all types of partnerships with biotech companies, on a broad range of health. And the company is ever looking for more collaborations. But, for those active in immune-oncology, David’s presentation came with a warning. He urged the audience to work on different drug areas as well: “… Or we’ll be lemmings on a cliff.”
Hybridize wins the VENTURE CHALLENGE 2018
Chrétien Herben, Director at LifeSciences@Work, announced Hybridize as the winner of the Venture Challenge 2018 spring edition. In addition to flowers and a big round of applause, the prize included a cheque worth €25.000. Hybridize is a LUMC-spinoff, recently founded by Anton Jan van Zonneveld and Jurrien Prins. The company develops a RNA treatment against BK virus, which major cause for severe complications in kidney transplant patients.
VarmX completes €12.5m Series A funding
Hybridize wasn’t the only company with a reason to celebrate. During the plenary program, Colja Laane and Hans Schikan had the honor to announce the completion of a series A funding for VarmX, a company co-led by BioGeneration Ventures InnovationQuarter. VarmX aims to turn snake venom into treatment and will use the €12.5 million to bring their company to the next level.
A radically new way to treat disease – Sebastian Nijman
The keynote of Scenic Biotech’s founder Sebastian Nijman addressed the potency of evolution-inspired medicine. Scenic Biotech is applying a novel approach to target discovery by harnessing genetic suppressors. Sebastian explained his fascination: “Among us, there are people that should be sick, based on their genes, but they are not.” In these people, other genes might be turned on which suppress disease. Scenic’s genetics platform Cell-Seq allows the discovery of genetic suppressors for future target development, yielding radically new ways to treat disease.
In biotech, simple often is difficult enough – Arthur Lahr
Bringing his rich experience to one of The Netherlands most advanced biotech companies, Arthur Lahr took on the job of CEO at Kiadis Pharma. The company’s lead product, ATIR101, a patient-specific immunotherapy, is designed to reduce the risk of Graft Versus Host Disease and relapse after stem cell transplantation. If all goes according to plan, the product will be launched in the EU in the second half of 2019. Although the future of a biotech is always uncertain, Arthur felt attracted to Kiadis because of the relative simplicity and elegance of its lead product. A perfect match to one of the most important lessons he learned in his career: in biotech, simple often is difficult enough. Simple as that.
WORKSHOP – Trends in deal-making
Deal-making is a hot topic in the biotech industry. Attracting almost half of the event’s participants, the deal-making workshop confirmed this once again. The presentation of M. Ventures’ Roel Bulthuis immediately led to a passionate discussion about trends in deal-making and the role of VCs, emerging biotechs and established biopharmaceutical companies. One of the session’s hot topics: wearables. Although in most cases used for personal use, wearables can really change the way of gathering clinical data. And with more and more VCs seeking a piece of the pie, this trend will open up opportunities for biotech companies all over the world.
WORKSHOP – Frontiers in science
Guided by Genmab’s Martine van Vugt, Arie Baak (Euretos) and Peter de Keizer (UMC Utrecht & Cleara Biotech) shared recent scientific developments with a possible profound effect on therapy development. Euretos has brought Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the level where it not only analyses data, it provides biological evidence as well. Peter the Keizer’s research identified senescent cells as a key factor in aging and cancer. Peter recently founded the company Cleara Biotech which discovered a way to eliminate senescent cells by steering them into apoptosis. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. But at HollandBIO, we can’t wait to see the full impact of these frontiers in science.
WORKSHOP – The patient’s perspective in the driver’s seat
To develop products and treatments which are truly focused on the patient, the patient must be involved from day one. But this is easier said than done. Maryze explained that people often forget to think about what it takes for a patient, for example to come over and share their experiences. That clearly needs to change, because it often takes a lot. During this interactive session everyone shared their experiences on bringing patient engagement into practice. It turned out to be a educative session where everyone could learn from each other’s best and worst practices.
WORKSHOP – How to sell your story
What it the first thing that to mind when you hear DSM? Yeast? Too bad. Biotech companies often start with what they are doing. Instead, to sell your story, you should start your story with why you are doing what you do. The “why” is the sole purpose of a company’s existence. The purpose of DSM is to create brighter lives for people today and generations to come. How? By delivering innovative business solutions for nutrition, health and sustainable living. During this workshop, Ellen Oerlemans urged the public to think about the story of their company. And, lucky for our sector, each and every biotech company has a strong story to tell, as biotech contributes to 11 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
FIRESIDE CHAT – Lessons in leadership
During the last session of the day, HollandBIO chairman Markwin Velders invited seasoned biotech entrepreneur Hans Schikan to unravel the secrets of successful leadership. In a cosy and laidback setting, Hans shared the ups and downs of his impressive career. After studying pharmacy, he gained experience at Organon. At a junior position, you have to do a lot of work yourself. Moving to leadership position, you need to learn to use your team to get things done. Driven by his inborn high dose of enthusiasm, Hans eventually made it to leadership positions at Organon, Genzyme and Prosensa. His tips for the audience: lead by example, never despair, just make it work, and bring a healthy dose of humour.
BEERS & BBQ
The weather, the view, the beers and BBQ delivered a perfect ending to a perfect day, offering our guests plenty of opportunity to network. HollandBIO is already looking forward to next year’s edition!
Eisai and Biogen announce positive topline results
GezondheidEisai and Biogen announced positive topline results from the Phase II study with BAN2401, an anti-amyloid beta protofibril antibody, in 856 patients with early Alzheimer’s disease. The study achieved statistical significance on key predefined endpoints evaluating efficacy at 18 months on slowing progression in Alzheimer’s Disease Composite Score (ADCOMS) and on reduction of amyloid accumulated in the brain as measured using amyloid-PET (positron emission tomography).
Study 201 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01767311) is a placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group, randomized study in 856 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or mild Alzheimer’s dementia (collectively known as early Alzheimer’s disease) with confirmed amyloid pathology in the brain. Efficacy was evaluated at 18 months by predefined conventional statistics on ADCOMS, which combines items from the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog), the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) scale and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) to enable sensitive detection of changes in early AD symptoms. Patients were randomized to five dose regimens, 2.5 mg/kg biweekly, 5 mg/kg monthly, 5 mg/kg biweekly, 10 mg/kg monthly and 10 mg/kg biweekly, or placebo.
Topline results of the final analysis of the study demonstrated a statistically significant slowing of disease progression on the key clinical endpoint (ADCOMS) after 18 months of treatment in patients receiving the highest treatment dose (10 mg/kg biweekly) as compared to placebo. Results of amyloid PET analyses at 18 months, including reduction in amyloid PET standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) and amyloid PET image visual read of subjects converting from positive to negative for amyloid in the brain, were also statistically significant at this dose. Dose-dependent changes from baseline were observed across the PET results and the clinical endpoints. Further, the highest treatment dose of BAN2401 began to show statistically significant clinical benefit as measured by ADCOMS as early as 6 months including at 12 months.
BAN2401 demonstrated an acceptable tolerability profile through 18 months of study drug administration. The most common treatment emergent adverse events were infusion-related reactions and Amyloid Related Imaging Abnormalities (ARIA). Infusion related reactions were mostly mild to moderate in severity. Incidence of ARIA-E (edema) was not more than 10% in any of the treatment arms, and less than 15% in patients with APOE4 at the highest dose per the study protocol safety and reporting procedures.
Detailed results of the study will be presented at future academic conferences.
“The 18-month results of the BAN2401 trial are impressive and provide important support for the amyloid hypothesis,” said Jeff Cummings, M.D., founding director, Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. “I look forward to seeing the full data set shared with the broader Alzheimer’s community as we advance against this devastating disease.”
“This is the first late-stage anti-amyloid antibody study to successfully achieve statistically significant results at 18 months, further validating the amyloid hypothesis,” said Lynn Kramer, M.D., Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Medical Officer, Neurology Business Group, Eisai. “We will discuss these very encouraging results with regulatory authorities to determine the best path forward. We continue to work towards the goal of delivering BAN2401 to patients and healthcare professionals as early as possible.”
“The prospect of being able to offer meaningful disease-modifying therapies to individuals suffering from this terrible disease is both exciting and humbling,” said Alfred Sandrock, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer at Biogen. “These BAN2401 18-month data offer important insights in the investigation of potential treatment options for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and underscores that neurodegenerative diseases may not be as intractable as they once seemed.”
As reported in December 2017, the study did not achieve its primary outcome measure which was designed to enable a potentially more rapid entry into Phase III development based on Bayesian analysis at 12 months of treatment. Upon the final analysis at 18 months using predefined conventional statistical method, the study did demonstrate a statistically significant slowing of disease progression on the key clinical endpoint (ADCOMS) after 12 months of treatment in patients receiving the highest treatment dose (10 mg/kg biweekly) as compared to placebo.
This release discusses investigational uses of an agent in development and is not intended to convey conclusions about efficacy or safety. There is no guarantee that any investigational uses of such product will successfully complete clinical development or gain health authority approval.
Source: Biogen
Data show Imnovid-based triple therapy PFS benefit in blood cancer
GezondheidCelgene has presented Phase III data showing a significant progression-free survival (PFS) benefit in patients with multiple myeloma taking a triple combination therapy of Imnovid, Velcade and low-dose dexamethasone.
According to results of the Phase III OPTIMISMM trial, adding Imnovid (pomalidomide) to Velcade (bortezomib) and low-dose dexamethasone significantly extended PFS to 11.2 months compared to 7.10 months for those taking the latter two alone, equating to a reduction in the risk of disease progression or death by 39 percent.
Overall response rate, one of the study’s secondary endpoints, was also significantly higher in the triple therapy arm at 82.2 percent versus 50.0 percent, while time to treatment response was shorter (0.9 months versus 1.4 months), complete response was higher (15.7 percent versus 4.0 percent), and duration of response was longer (13.7 months versus 10.9 months).
OPTIMISMM is the only Phase III trial to report data with a triplet combination in patients who have all received prior Revlimid (lenalidomide) therapy. In the UK, over 16,000 patients have been treated with lenalidomide since 2009, and this represents a patient population for which there is a growing unmet medical need, Celgene said.
“Results from OPTIMISMM are promising and show the potential of pomalidomide in combination with other therapies, earlier in the myeloma treatment pathway,” noted Dr Neil Rabin, consultant haematologist at University College London Hospitals.
“There is a growing unmet need for those patients who have been treated previously with lenalidomide, and combination therapies are key to meet that need. These data are therefore very encouraging.”
Source: PharmaTimes
EUROSTARS grants project funding for IMMUNOMONITOR consortium led by ENPICOM
InnovatieklimaatA total grant sum of EUR 2 million has been awarded to a multidisciplinary EUROSTARS consortium. The EUROSTARS project is titled “Treatment Response Monitoring for Cancer Immunotherapies Using Immune Repertoire Analysis” and named IMMUNOMONITOR.
This European consortium consists of five collaborating partners: ENPICOM (Netherlands), a bioinformatics and software engineering company; Biomax Informatics (Germany), a knowledge management solution company; Ultimovacs (Norway), a pharmaceutical company developing innovative vaccines for treatment of cancer; the lab of Prof. Binder of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf or UKE (Germany); and OSE Immunotherapeutics (France), a biotechnology company developing innovative immunotherapies for immune activation and regulation in the fields of immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases.
ENPICOM develops a T-cell/B-cell receptor (TCR/BCR) repertoire immunosequencing data analysis platform to support the development, patient stratification and treatment monitoring of immunotherapies. The goal of the IMMUNOMONITOR project is to validate the data analysis and visualization software solution for treatment response monitoring of cancer vaccines based on a unique approach to over-time immune repertoire sequencing data analysis.
While a growing number of immunotherapies have been approved, no adequate diagnostic tests are available to capture the desired immune response and to monitor if the therapy is effective in an individual patient. The consortium is addressing this unmet medical need with a software solution to capture and monitor a patient’s dynamic immune response over time using blood samples. Advances in Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) allow taking ‘snapshots’ of a patient’s immune response by sequencing DNA or RNA from the patient’s immune cells (i.e. immune repertoire). The enormous diversity of immune repertoires results in a staggering amount of data, which cannot be handled by existing tools for NGS data analysis.
In the IMMUNOMONITOR project, advanced bioinformatics algorithms will be developed using NGS big data analysis to generate an ‘immune status fingerprint’ for monitoring cancer vaccines. The clinical validation studies will include two cancer vaccines tested in pancreatic cancer, lung cancer and malignant melanoma developed by OSE Immunotherapeutics and Ultimovacs, respectively.
Jos Lunenberg, CEO of ENPICOM, comments: “The collaboration will officially start today with a kick-off meeting in the Netherlands. We are extremely excited and happy to be working with this dedicated and highly motivated group of experts. This project is a great example of how a multi-disciplinary approach to healthcare can accelerate the process of translating technological innovation faster to patient benefits.” Professor Mascha Binder (UKE) is very pleased too and adds: “TCR/BCR repertoire data analysis is a new and powerful technology to analyze the immune status of patients and guide immunotherapies. Within this project we aim to prove its true value in treatment responses to cancer vaccines”.
The EUROSTARS program is a funding and support program, aimed at R&D-performing SMEs that wish to exploit the benefits that come with international collaboration. EUROSTARS applications pass through a highly-competitive selection process, being scrutinized by a panel of international research and business experts, to ensure that only the best business ideas and strongest partnerships get the support they need. It has been repeatedly shown that EUROSTARS helps businesses grown their teams, discover new expertise – and attract private investors. Within two years of completion the product of research should be ready for market introduction. The IMMUNOMONITOR consortium built and led by ENPICOM ranked number 52 in a total of 375 submissions.
Source: Presswire
Aon Life Sciences Clinical Trials Risk Map
GezondheidThe globalization of clinical trials continues to be on the rise, leading to a plethora of regulatory and operational challenges for the Life Sciences industry. Aon’s 6th edition Clinical Trials Risk Map highlights clinical trials insurance regulations and complexities for over 80 countries throughout the world leveraging Aon’s global network and clinical trials expertise. Aon’s global network is positioned to help life sciences companies efficiently and effectively secure international clinical trials coverage that complies with the regulatory requirements of individual countries, ultimately minimizing the risk of financial volatility.
For a free download of the map, click here: http://www.aon.com/getmedia/8752564c-44f6-42af-8976-685baec822b2/aon-life-sciences-clinical-trials-risk-map.aspx
GROZ: Handen ineen voor een vitaal functionerende samenleving
GezondheidMorgen start de Topsector Life Sciences & Health (Health~Holland) het nieuwe initiatief GROZ. GROZ staat voor de kanteling van onze gezondheidszorg en is een nationale samenwerking op het gebied van de maatschappelijke uitdaging Gezondheid en Zorg. Binnen GROZ slaan burgers, zorgprofessionals, ondernemers, wetenschappers, financiers en overheid de handen ineen, zowel op lokaal als nationaal niveau. Het blijft niet uitsluitend bij praten. Alle partijen werken samen aan concrete zorgvernieuwingen met als doel een vitaal functionerende samenleving met een gezonde economie.
De kracht van burgerinitiatieven
Regionale initiatieven door én voor burgers leiden tot innovatieve, lokaal gedragen oplossingen voor uitdagingen in de gezondheidszorg. Burgers weten zich daarbij steeds meer gesteund door hun gemeente, zorgaanbieders, lokale GGD en ondernemers. Krachtige voorbeelden zijn Vitaal Vechtdal, Austerlitz Zorgt en Stichting Gezondheidscentra Nijkerk. Hoe kunnen dit soort initiatieven ook elders in Nederland de gezondheidszorg kantelen?
Startsein voor GROZ
Meer en meer zal de behoefte van burgers centraal staan in het gezondheidszorgsysteem. Daarom start de eerste GROZ bijeenkomst op 4 juli met burgerinitiatieven. Zij komen bijeen om elkaar aan de hand van tien concrete succesvoorwaarden te informeren en inspireren. Vervolgens bepalen de partijen gezamenlijk wat er vanuit andere stakeholders nodig is om deze burgerinitiatieven succesvol te laten groeien.
Werken aan de maatschappelijke uitdaging Gezondheid en Zorg Vanuit de behoeften die de burgerinitiatieven op 4 juli ophalen, organiseert de Topsector LSH in de tweede helft van 2018 nog een drietal bijeenkomsten met gezondheidszorgprofessionals, ondernemers en investeerders en financiers. Hier volgen de thema´s mankracht, het veranderde aanbod binnen bedrijven en financieringsstructuren elkaar op. GROZ wil hiermee een domino-effect creëren waardoor partijen gezamenlijk in beweging komen voor de maatschappelijke uitdaging Gezondheid en Zorg.
De Topsector LSH en haar coalitiegenoten geven met GROZ het startsein voor een nationale transformatie van de gezondheidszorg, waar burgers, kwaliteit, toegankelijkheid en betaalbaarheid voorop staan.
Boeren en aardappeltelers zien toekomst voor moderne veredelingsmethoden
Wereld mét toekomst, Voedsel en materialenBoeren en aardappeltelers toonden afgelopen week vol trots hun producten aan het publiek tijdens de Bildtse Aardappelweken, aldus de Nieuwe Oogst van 30 juni. Niet alleen de aardappelen zelf zijn populair, ook het Nederlandse pootgoed vindt gretig aftrek in het buitenland. Dit komt voornamelijk door de goede rassen en exportlogistiek van de Nederlandse sector. Om deze positie te behouden is snel in kunnen spelen op veranderingen van levensbelang. Voor het vinden van oplossingen voor ziekten, stress en droogte willen de aardappeltelers daarom graag de moderne veredelingsmethoden kunnen inzetten. Helaas houdt belemmerende wetgeving dat nu nog tegen. HollandBIO hoopt daarom dat de uitspraak van het Europese Hof op 25 juli daar eindelijk verandering in brengt.