The red blocks of the iconic Willy Van Der Meeren student quarters are ready for a second life. There, the brand new Bio Incubator Brussels (BIB) offers move-in-ready lab and office space for startups in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and health technology. Renowned molecular biologist and a major trigger of the new bio-incubator professor Jan Steyaert thinks it is not only the facilities that are ideal. ‘In terms of location, this is a dream. Most bio-incubators are on an industrial estate, but we are in the middle of the VUB campus, within walking distance of train, tram, cafés and a swimming pool.’
A village within a village, that's how the familiar yellow, blue, grey and red lots in the middle of Etterbeek's campus were sometimes called. In the red blocks, the student rooms have now given way to move-in-ready offices and laboratories of the new Bio Incubator Brussels. Most of the premises are still empty for a while, waiting for new tenants. David Moreels (incubator manager VUB) shows us around. After three turns, we lose our way. It's not because of our lack of orientation skills, David reassures us. ‘Architect Willy Van Der Meeren is said to have deliberately designed this student village as a maze, in the spirit of May ‘68. He created random entrances, stairs, paths and nooks everywhere, which only the students could find their way around properly. That way, they could quickly get out of the way during protests when the police were hot on their heels.’
After ten years of searching
If the story is not true, it is still a good find. Only the exterior of the blocks is still reminiscent of those glorious times. The modernist concrete shell has been preserved for posterity, as have the iconic colours. Inside, the buildings have changed beyond recognition. The VIB-VUB Centre for Structural Biology, headed by Professor Jan Steyaert and Professor Han Remaut, was the first to palm one of the red blocks four years ago. The eye-catcher there is the cryo-electron microscope. That behemoth - five metres high - can image even the smallest proteins. With the new bio-incubator, another red block also got a new destination.
"With the new bio-incubator, we can finally incubate our own spin-offs closer to home"
From left to right: Jan Steyaert (Scientific Director of the VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology) and David Moreels (Incubator Manager at VUB).
Jan Steyaert (scientific director VIB-VUB Centre for Structural Biology): ‘A bio-incubator is a place where startups in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and health technology can take their first steps. This way, they do not have to invest in their own infrastructure immediately and can grow or shrink flexibly. VIB, a research institute in life sciences that combines research excellence with innovation, manages a total of more than 50,000 m² of bio-incubators in Ghent and Leuven. The new Bio Incubator Brussels on the Etterbeek campus is the first at VUB. We spent ten years looking for a suitable location and are very happy that we succeeded. The funding is a collaboration between VIB, the VUB and the VIB-VUB Centre for Structural Biology. And financial support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is still being counted on. Former Vice-Chancellor Hugo Thienpont and general manager Nic Van Craen, along with many others, put their backs into it.’
Small, but nice
The Bio Incubator Brussels consists of six laboratory and seven office modules, together accounting for around 2,000 m² of startup space. Small, but nice, thinks Jan Steyaert. ‘As a VUB-er, I am a bit favoured, I admit. But in terms of location, this is a dream. Most bio-incubators are on an industrial estate and can only be reached by car. Our bio-incubator is in the middle of the VUB campus, within walking distance of the train station and a tram connection, and close to a restaurant, two cafés and a swimming pool. In the battle for talent these days, these are important assets.’
The startups that will take up residence in the Bio Incubator Brussels are at the heart of Europe, close to key public and private decision-makers. You can't get any closer to the source. Moreover, they can contact the neighbours of the VIB-VUB Centre for Structural Biology with all their questions or for a brainstorming session.
Jan Steyaert: ‘Our research centre has been pioneering NANOBODY® molecules for more than a quarter of a century: llama antibodies with very special properties, enabling numerous innovative applications in medicine, animal medicine and crop protection. That scientific knowledge has been valorised through spinoffs such as Ablynx, Biotalys and Confo Therapeutics.’
With success. Ablynx, of which Jan Steyaert was a co-founder, was sold to French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi for four billion in 2018. Jan Steyaert: ‘All these commercial success stories are based on knowledge and technology developed here at the VUB. But they were not written on our campus because there were no bio-incubators available here. That was always a bottle neck that caused VUB startups to be founded elsewhere and grow big elsewhere. The new Bio Incubator Brussels finally changes that. From now on, we can incubate our own spin-offs closer to home.’
Tenants needed
Two of the six laboratories of the Bio Incubator Brussels have already been occupied, by the VIB NANOBODY® VHH Core Facility. This lab is attached to the VIB-VUB Centre for Structural Biology and, as a service provider, does contract research for academic groups and companies: the lab technicians develop NANOBODY® molecules there, based on the blood of llamas immunised with certain substances.
Jan Steyaert: ‘By the summer we will move back in here ourselves with a new spin-off from the VIB-VUB Centre for Structural Biology - a pharmaceutical company that will also work on the basis of NANOBODY® technology. I don't want to say more about it yet.’ David Moreels: ‘There is a lot of interest, also from companies that do not work with these antibodies. Soon we will open the doors for a guided visit. I expect enthusiastic reactions. The target is to fill at least one laboratory every year, but faster is of course always possible.’
In any case, Jan Steyaert hopes for a diverse mix of startups that dare to dream beyond today's standard science. If it depends on him, this new bio-incubator will be a fruitful place for collaboration and cross-pollination. Jan Steyaert: ‘The time of the lone genius with one clever idea that changes the world is over. Today, science is multidisciplinary par excellence. The best ideas arise at the coffee machine, where experts from different disciplines pool their knowledge or go over questions. For example, I once got talking to an American biochemist from Stanford. He had been biting his teeth on a problem for 20 years: he wanted to image the human body's adrenaline receptor, but he couldn't because the thing was so mobile. I suggested creating a NANOBODY® that latches onto that structure and stops the movement. To which the man said: if you can do that, I'm going for the Nobel Prize. That chemist was Brian Kobilka. Two years later, he did indeed win the Nobel Prize - courtesy of our NANOBODY® molecules.’
For more info or a visit: https://www.vubtechtransfer.be/bio-incubator-brussels-bib   
This is a machine translation. We apologise for any inaccuracies.
