Europabio

LignoValue Pilot Launch & Biorizon Networking Event
2022-10-06 09:00 - 18:00 (Europe/Brussels)
Get informed about the latest progress in the field of biobased aromatics, and join the pre-arranged, bilateral matchmaking sessions!

On 6 October 2022, Shared Research Center Biorizon & VITO’s LignoValue Pilot Plant will host a live networking event at VITO in Mol, Flanders.

Major industrial players, small to medium‑sized enterprises, and research and technology organisations from all over the world will join Biorizon to discuss the latest progress in the field of bio-aromatics and to elaborate on opportunities to accelerate biobased business together. Over the past years, this has evolved into a must-attend event for anyone who’s interested in renewable aromatics. Last edition attracted 305 participants from 28 countries.Program live event – 6 October:

Bus visit to the impressive LignoValue Pilot Plant at VITO in Mol, Flanders.Live networkingFormal launch of the LignoValue Pilot Plant & a brief update by Biorizon.

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European Biotech Week 2022: At the cutting edge of biotechnology for cardiovascular diseases: A World Heart Day special edition webinar
2022-09-29 14:00 - 15:00
Healthcare Biotechnology has the potential to transform how healthcare is delivered to patients, both in terms of innovative treatments, but also via use of innovative prevention, screening, and testing measures.

During this webinar, which marks World Heart Day, speakers will discuss how biomarker testing for genetically inherited risk factors for cardiovascular diseases is opening up new frontiers in healthcare, and saving lives across the world.

Featuring speakers from the patient community, research and academia, and industry, the conversation will also address the need to translate guidelines into practice, and will end with an interactive Q&A.

Speakers:

Marius Geanta, Trustee and the Chair of the Policy Advisory Committee, FH EuropeLena Lymperopoulou, Global Policy Head Therapeutic Area Cardiovascular, NovartisFlorian Kronenberg, Full Professor and Head of the Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Medical University of InnsbruckJamie Wilkinson, Healthcare Biotechnology Director, EuropaBio

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European Biotech Week 2022: Innovative technologies in the EU green transition – spotlight on industrial biotechnology
2022-09-27 14:00 - 15:00
Industrial Biotechnology-derived products offer significant potential for contributing to overcoming many EU socio-economic and environmental challenges. It is not a new sector. On the contrary, for thousands of years the power of microbes has been harnessed in food production and beverages. In the past century, the applications for IB have expanded greatly with IB now providing living microorganisms and fermentation products that are used in sectors as diverse as food and feed, agriculture, detergents, paper and pulp, textiles, fuels, bioenergy, and specialty chemicals.

Research and innovation are key drivers to accelerate the green transition. Indeed, the EU Green Deal notes that “New technologies, sustainable solutions and disruptive innovation are critical to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal”. In this context, a range of solutions will be needed. Alternatives to fossil-based products, improved resource efficiency of industrial processes, innovative food and feed are all targets where industrial biotechnology and bioeconomy innovation can deliver.

This webinar will discuss innovative solutions that can contribute towards the green transition, with a focus on industrial biotechnology. It will zoom in on products of IB and their benefits and challenges, also linking to the EU GMO regulatory framework and recent developments on new genomic techniques.

Speakers:

Marc Leclerc, Senior Regulatory Affairs Advisor, NovozymesRachel Melnick, Senior Scientific Program Manager, Agriculture & Food Systems InstituteHans Genee, Co-Founder and CSO, Biosyntia

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European Biotech Week 2022: Biotechnology for society, sustainability and economies – transformative science for a changing world
2022-09-26 14:00 - 15:15
The 2022 European Biotech Week from EuropaBio opens with a look at how biotechnology is at the centre of Europe’s transformation to a healthy, sustainable and competitive economy and society.

Join our Board Members from across Europe’s biotechnology spectrum to learn about biotech in action and its benefits in our every day lives, as well as how it supports employment, economic development and Europe’s place in the world.

Speakers:

Patricia Malarkey, Global Chief Innovation Officer, DSMStefan Buchholz, Senior VP R&D Nutrition and Care, EvonikTom Bols, Head of Government Affairs and Patient Advocacy, PTC TherapeuticsAnnemeik Verkamman, Managing Director, HollandBio

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European Biotech Week 2022
2022-09-26 08:00 - 2022-10-02 17:00
From the clothes we wear and how we wash them, the food we eat and the sources it comes from, the medicine we use to keep us healthy and even to the fuel we use to take us where we need to go, biotechnology plays an invaluable role in meeting our needs.The European Biotech Week – a week-long series of events, taking place all over Europe – aims at highlighting this role by raising awareness and making biotech accessible to local communities and showing concrete examples to explain how biotech surrounds and supports us in everyday life. EuropaBio is delighted to launch the 10th edition of the European Biotech Week (#EBW2022), and to invite scientists, companies, academics, students and policymakers to gather together physically or online and address ongoing challenges and find synergies for enhanced collaboration.

Get involved: link your event or submit a thesisThe key to the success of the European Biotech Week is the active involvement of organisations, companies, and individuals. Any school, university, museum, company, institution, association or organisation based in Europe is welcome to organise events as part of the Week.

You can become an official partner of European Biotech Week by linking your event to the Week – either during the Week or one week before or after. We will provide you with communications materials, list your event on the European Biotech website and promote it on our social media channels.

If you are a student or a recent graduate you can take part in the Week by submitting your thesis on Industrial or Healthcare biotechnology topics. The Essay Competition is open to EU or Ukrainian citizens (or permanent EU residents) up to the age of 35. The winning essays will receive €1000 or €500 prizes. More details in the Rules, Terms and Conditions.

14th Carbohydrate Bioengineering Meeting (CBM14)
2022-09-25 09:00 - 2022-09-28 18:00 | Oslo/Norefjell, Norway, Norway
Carbohydrate Bioengineering is recognized today as a pillar of biotechnology and biological engineering. It offers major assets to face many of our modern life challenges, promote innovative medical treatments or elaborate functional food, biopharmaceuticals, active cosmetics, biomaterials, to name just a few. In particular, researches in glycobiology, multi-omic data integration, structure/function relationships, enzyme engineering, biocatalysis, biophysics and process development are key drivers to expand opportunities in this field. More than ever, knowledge between carbohydrate players must be shared and crossing and bridging the disciplinary boundaries are essential to open new horizons of developments for the benefit of all. This will be the objective of CBM14.

In keeping with the previous CBMs, the conference will bring together glycoscientists coming from all over the world to share their latest findings and most exciting achievements in a friendly and warm atmosphere. Experts from research institutions or private companies will open each session, which will be followed by presentations selected from submitted abstracts.

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10th International Congress on Biocatalysis (biocat2022)
2022-08-28 09:00 - 2022-09-01 18:00 | Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Am Schwarzenberg-Campus 1, Hamburg, 21073, Germany
The transition from fossil to a biobased circular economy requires cutting edge technologies that ensure economic growth with environmentally responsible action.

The future challenges which include utilization of natural resources, food supply, health, energy and the environment, can only be met in an interdisciplinary manner.

Biocatalysis is one of the key technologies to address this complex task. Biotechnological products already find application in food, feed, chemical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry and the developing sustainable bioeconomy is expected to create new processes and products and new job opportunities.

The successful concept of biocat congress is aimed at integrating the know-how of highly acknowledged biologists, biochemists, chemists and engineers from academia and industry. Biocat congress offers a platform to form strategic alliances for future projects and innovations.

Since 2002 we have been organizing the biennial biocat conference series, which is focused on the rapidly evolving fields of biocatalysis and industrial biotechnology. The preceding International Congresses on Biocatalysis attracted more than 3,200 participants from over 40 countries.

The major topics to be addressed are:

Computational analysis for enzyme discovery and designStructure-function analysis and enzyme optimizationEnzymatic and whole-cell biotransformationReaction cascades: Bioelectrochemical as well as chemo-/photoenzymaticBioprocess engineeringSynthesis of biodegradable materials and energy generationCarbon dioxide based biotechnologySustainable industrial processes, biorefinery and bioeconomy

It is our aim to create a stimulating and open scientific atmosphere to foster the development of new collaborations.

It is our great pleasure and honor to invite scientists from all over the world to the 10th International Congress on Biocatalysis 2022 (biocat2022) to be held from 28 August – 1 September 2022 at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Hamburg, Germany.

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Hamburg, an exciting and cosmopolitan city, and to share a successful and enjoyable meeting in person with you.

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ESAB Webinar: Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering Tools and Methodologies
2022-08-26 14:00 - 16:00
14:00-14:30Phage-assisted directed evolution of proteinsProf. Dr. Alfonso JaramilloInstituto de Biologia Integrativa de Sistemas (i2SysBio), CSIC, Valencia, Spain14:30-15:00 Engineered bacteria as an early-stage drug discovery platform for protein misfolding diseasesProf. Dr. Georgios SkretasDirector, Institute for Bio-innovation, Biomedical Sciences Research Center “Alexander Fleming”, Athens, Greece15:00-15:30Biochemical engineering drives the green transitionProf. Dr. Sotirios C. KampranisBiochemical Engineering Group, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark15:30-16:00 Cell-free synthetic biology enables industrial biotechnologyProf. Dr. Ashty KarimDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Director of Research for the Center for Synthetic Biology at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA

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Biocatalysis and Molecular Medcine
2022-07-29 09:00 - 19:00
ESAB and SKB are pleased to invite you to the Webinar on the new topic Biocatalysis and Molecular Medicine, bridging the communities of biocatalysis/industrial biotechnology and molecular medicine.

10:00 – 10:30 CESTCritical mechanisms in the pathogenesis of persistent bacterial infections Prof. Dr. Thomas F. MeyerMax Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Berlin, and Laboratory of Infection Oncology, Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian Albrecht’s University of Kiel and University Hospital Schleswig Holstein – Campus Kiel, Germany10:30 – 11:00 CESTMucopolysaccharidoses – molecular mechanisms and treatment options of disorders caused by defects in biocatalysis of glycosaminoglycan decay Prof. Dr. Grzegorz WegrzynDepartment of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland11:00 – 11:30 CESTBiocatalysis in Cells through Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs): How to Improve Cell Permeability and Achieve Successful Protein Degradation Prof. Dr. Leonardo ScapozzaSchool of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Switzerland11:30 – 12:00 CESTThe use of systems biology in treatment of liver diseases Prof. Dr. Adil MardinogluScience for Life Laboratory, KTH – Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, and Centre for Host-Microbiome Interactions, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

ESAB-SKB_Webinar_29JULY2022Download

10th OxiZymes meeting
2022-07-05 09:00 - 2022-07-08 18:00 | University of Siena, Via Roma 56, Siena, 53100, Italy
Welcome to the 10th Edition of OxiZymes meeting!

Initially specifically devoted to research activities on laccases and peroxidases, this series of conferences now cover the whole class of oxidoreductases. Building on the success of previous OxiZymes meetings, OxiZymes 2022 will emphasize the discovery of new oxidoreductases and the latest advances in their biotechnological applications. The conference will provide a unique opportunity for industrial researchers to meet with foremost young academics for knowledge transfer and to establish research collaborations. The conference format is designed to be highly interactive, with ample time for stimulating discussions, interdisciplinary interactions, and meetings alongside the scientific sessions.

OxiZymes Siena will cover the following topics:

Newly discovered OxizymesOxizymes mechanism and structureOxizymes engineering, computational and biomimetic approachesOxizymes in fine chemistryBiotechnological applications of Oxizymes:Oxizymes in foodOxizymes in biorefineryOxizymes in biosensorsOxizymes in biomaterials applicationsSophie Vanhulle Prize 2022

The best poster and presentation will be awarded by MDPI with 200 CHF each.

The Organizing Committee is looking forward to welcoming you in Siena!

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Biocatalytic and Sustainable Chemistry: Biocatalysis and Renewables
2022-06-24 02:00 - 16:00
The next webinar of the European Society of Applied Biocatalysis (ESAB), this time together with SusChem, will take place on Friday, 24 June 2022 (14:00-16:00 CEST).

The topic is “Biocatalytic and Sustainable Chemistry: Biocatalysis and Renewables”.

You can look forward to the following lectures:

14:00 – 14:30 CESTBiocatalysis – Opportunities and challenges for industrial production Prof. Dr. Stefan Buchholz, Head of R&D for the Division Nutrition & Care, Evonik Operations GmbH, Germany14:30 – 15:00 CESTBiotransformations as Key Steps in the Conversion of Unsaturated Fatty Acids into Industrial Chemicals Prof. Dr. Harald Gröger, Department of Chemistry, Industrial Organic Chemistry and Biotechnology, Bielefeld University, Germany15:00 – 15:30 CESTChemobiocatalytic upgrading of furfural to C4 chemicals Prof. Dr. Ning Li, School of Food Science and Technology, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China15:30 – 16:00 CESTEnzymes for converting chitin/chitosans into highly valuable products Prof. Dr. Bruno Moerschbacher, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Münster University, Germany

Please be informed, that, immediately after the registration, you will receive an email confirmation with the Zoom link.

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EuropaBio: BIO 2022
2022-06-15 20:00 - 21:00
BIO 2022: The big bang in pharma legislation: A European epicentre shaping global healthcare and competitive industry

EuropaBio is pleased to lead a panel discussion at BIO in San Diego and invites all delegates to join us to discuss the future of healthcare innovation as impacted by European changes.

20 years ago, European pharmaceutical legislation underwent a major review, a critical point in the continent’s single market in healthcare. Since then Europe has grown, bringing new voices, political momentum and advanced technologies into healthcare and today, the European Commission is reshaping pharma legislation to meet the twin priorities of equality of access and ability to pay.

This is a significant moment for the global biopharmaceutical industry and one that will change the dynamics of investment, science and market access for companies worldwide.

How does the legislative framework for medicines achieve its aims through reform? Balancing equity and affordability of medicines with reward for high-risk innovation from SMEs through to multi-nationals.

Panel focus:

The drive for reform – the world is changing and with it must change the pathway for medicines so that all patients benefitWhat do SMEs, mid-sized and multi-national companies need from legislation to ensure they can deliver innovation in the long term?When change is inevitable, how does industry roll up its shelves and help collectively drive a new future, rather than waiting for it to be imposed?How will European reform impact the global biopharma sector in a time of geopolitical realignment and regrowth?

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IHI Kick-off and brokerage event
2022-06-14 08:30 - 17:00
The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) is launching its first calls for proposal in late June and it is time to start thinking about building partnerships at our kick-off and brokerage event. This one-day hybrid event will take place on 14 June 2022 at Hotel Le Plaza Brussels, where creating project proposals and building strong, effective consortia are at the core of the day. We aim to provide pertinent information; allow open and honest discussion as well as network building through face-to-face and virtual meetings.

In the first session, IHI will present the content of the calls and outline the rules for participation. Topics covered will be the research priorities of IHI, call conditions, and even specific opportunities for SMEs.

The second session is the moment for consortia building. In the room, there will be available timeslots to make short elevator pitches on your proposals.

Whether you are in the room or in a virtual environment, you will be able to book meetings through an online platform with representatives who have an interest in the same topics. This is a great opportunity to have face-to-face or virtual project idea discussions and to find partners to build a strong consortium.

There will be coffee breaks and lots of time for questions and answers to get you rolling before the dedicated networking sessions.

Participation in the event will be free of charge! However, registration and profile activation will be mandatory to attend the brokerage event. A networking lunch will be provided for those in the room.

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6th International Conference Implementation of Microreactor Technology in Biotechnology
2022-06-05 09:00 - 2022-06-08 18:00 | Portorož, Slovenia, Slovenia
We cordially invite you to attend the 6th International Conference IMPLEMENTATION OF MICROREACTOR TECHNOLOGY IN BIOTECHNOLOGY – IMTB 2022, which will take place in Portorož, Slovenia, from 5th to 8th June 2022.

The IMTB conference aims to provide a platform for people from industry and academia, working in the cross-section of microfluidics, life sciences, analytics, and bioprocess engineering. The interdisciplinary feature of the IMTB conferences enables participants to present and discuss their latest results, developments, and strategies within these complementary fields and to integrate them to gain new accomplishments for industrial implementation.

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Rare Conversations 2022!
2022-06-02 15:00 - 16:15
Managing uncertainties in rare disease innovation

Joins us for the new episode of Rare Conversations 2022!

The second episode of Rare Conversations 2022 will build on the previous Conversation about game-changing opportunities in rare disease R&D. In the first episode, different experts convened on the existence of opportunities in rare diseases, that still face obstacles that need to be addressed. This event is meant to discuss and propose solutions on: “Managing uncertainties in rare disease innovation”

Roundtable on leveraging private investment in health and life sciences
2022-06-01 17:00 - 18:30
Investments in health innovation will be central to ensure better preparedness as we are aiming both to recover from the pandemic and to better anticipate future health challenges.We are pleased to invite you to the launch of a novel report on European life science and health investment attractiveness as well as an exclusive conversation with global sector representatives on 1 June at 4:00 pm CET.

Three reasons to join:

Explore the nexus between the private investment and health agendasDiscuss how policy makers can scale up investments in health and life science innovationExchange with industry experts, OECD and government representatives

We look forward to your participation. For more information, please contact Ina Sandler.

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Browse the agenda

18th International Conference on Renewable Resources and Biorefineries (RRB 2022)
2022-06-01 09:00 - 2022-06-03 18:00 | BMCC – Bruges Meeting and Convention Centre, Beursplein 1, Bruges, 8000, Belgium
Biobased solutions for climate change

The 18th edition of the International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries will take place in Bruges, Belgium from Wednesday 1 June until Friday 3 June 2022. Based on the previous RRB conferences, this conference is expected to welcome about 300 international participants from over 30 countries.Delegates from universities, industry, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and venture capital providers will present their views on industrial biotechnology, sustainable (green) chemistry, and agricultural policy related to the use of renewable raw materials for non-food applications and energy supply. The conference further aims at providing an overview of the scientific, technical, economic, environmental and social issues of renewable resources and biorefineries in order to give an impetus to the biobased economy and to present new developments in this area. The conference will provide a forum for leading political, corporate, academic, and financial people to discuss recent developments and set up collaborations.The three-day international conference will consist of plenary lectures, oral presentations, poster sessions, and an exhibition. Companies and research organizations are offered the opportunity to organize a satellite symposium.

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SME BioForum
2022-05-31 11:00 - 12:30
Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) in Europe

On May 31st, from 11h to 12h30 CET, EuropaBio – the European Association for Bioindustries, will host the first online round table discussion within its new SME BioForum. This online and invite-only meeting will focus on the business environment in Europe for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) in Europe. Selected SMEs are being invited by their biotechnology association which sits within EuropaBio.

The SME BioForum will bring together senior executives from Europe’s growing SMEs within ATMPs. The moderated discussion will address commercial development challenges and how the European regulatory and market access landscape influences their growth and delivery of products to patients.

From this BioForum, EuropaBio and its National Association Council will undertake direct advocacy on SME priorities to key stakeholders at the national and European levels to address the legislation, regulatory, finance and market access issues that impact SME competitiveness.

By participating in this BioForum, SME executives have their voices heard and represented at the highest levels in Europe.

Participants should be at senior management level, with the ability to debate their company’s challenges for sustainable growth to profit and current developments in their national biotechnology context within their field of expertise. There is no requirement for participants to be knowledgeable of or involved in policy efforts.

If you have any queries or wish for further details, please get in touch with José Peres at j.peres@europabio.org.

ESAB Webinar: Biocatalytic Total Synthesis
2022-05-27 10:00 - 12:00
10:00 – 10:30 CESTWhat the archaeal genomes tell usProf. Dr. Haruyuki AtomiDepartment of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto, and Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Tokyo, Japan10:30 – 11:00 CESTBiosynthesis of StrychnineDr. Benke HongDepartment of Natural Product Biosynthesis, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany11:00 – 11:30 CESTBamboo and Crop Leaves Biosynthesize Antinociceptive C-glycosylated FlavonesProf. Dr. Yong WangKey Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Science (CEMPS), Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China11:30 – 12:00 CESTDiscovery, characterization and engineering synthetic pathways to bioactive moleculesProf. Dr. Jason MicklefieldDepartment of Chemistry and Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

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Knowledge for Growth | Ghent
2022-05-18 08:00 - 2022-05-19 17:00
Knowledge for Growth is Europe’s finest life sciences conference and will take place both on-site (Ghent, Belgium) and on-line, in May 2022.

The cream of the Belgian life sciences community will be attending this business conference, attracting decision makers from biotech, pharma and medtech, agricultural and chemical industry as well as investors, universities, topnotch research institutes, policymakers and competence providers.

The conference will feature an exciting programme providing vital insight into the global life sciences’ landscape, one-to-one partnering, a trade fair and more.

Early fee discounts are available until March 13.

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AseBio Investor Day 2022 | Madrid
2022-04-28 09:00 - 18:00
Spanish biotechnology makes up 2.8% of global production and is cited 30% more than the global average in this area. Spain is ranked 9th in scientific production in biotechnology and has the highest percentage of scientific papers in high-impact journals of any country: 83.3%.

In 2018, the biotechnology sector invested nearly €770 million in R&D, 71% from biotech companies. Biotech companies were ranked first in Spain in 2018 for R&D investment in industrial sectors, surpassing the pharmaceutical sector for the first time. The year-on-year increase in R&D investment in 2018 was 13%, among the five fastest-growing sectors in R&D investment in Spain.

AseBio Investor Day is the leading event allowing Spanish innovative biotechnology projects to be introduced to an audience of leading international investors and pharmaceutical & industrial companies.

The event is organized by AseBio, the Spanish Bioindustry Association. EuropaBio members are entitled to a discount (please liaise with Martina Cilia for more information: m.cilia@europabio.org).

ESAB Webinar: Advances in the Analysis of Enzymatic Reactions and Finding New Enzymes
2022-04-22 14:00 - 16:00
Programme / Speakers

14:00 – 14:30: Droplet Microfluidics with Mass Spectrometry for High-Throughput Enzyme Reaction Analysis

Prof. Dr. Robert T. KennedyDepartment of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Abor, MI 48109, USA

14:30 – 15:00: Biomolecular engineeDroplets-on-demand platforms for the high-throughput characterisation of functional enzymes

Dr. Fabrice GielenDepartment of Physics, Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, UK

15:00 – 15:30: Measuring Enzyme Kinetics, Inhibition, and Allostery using Isothermal Titration Calorimetry

Prof. Dr. Anthony K. MittermaierDepartment of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

15:30 – 16:00: Redesign of oxidative enzymes for the biocatalytic valorisIdentification of diverse enzymes by screening biodiversity using innovative in silico approaches: example with the Amine Dehydrogenase family (MODAMDH Project)

Dr. Carine Vergne-VaxelaireGénomique Métabolique UMR8030, Genoscope, CEA, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, France

Flyer

Abstracts and Short Bios of the speakers

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Rare Conversations: Game changing opportunities for the R&D community to address existing challenges in rare diseases
2022-04-06 14:00 - 15:15
Join the inaugural episode of the new Rare Conversations event series in 2022, aimed at powering the next decade of rare disease innovation in Europe.

The first episode will be focused on game-changing opportunities for the R&D community to address existing challenges in rare diseases. The aim is to understand what is the basis needed to build the foundations for the future innovative rare disease ecosystem.

The event, organized by Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease, in cooperation with the European Confederation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (EUCOPE), will revolve around discussions on how the revision of the OMP Regulation can create a space for opportunities for scientific progress.

Block your calendar for 6th April from 14.00 – 15.15 CET. More information and the registration link will be shared with you shortly.

About “Rare Conversations”Rare Conversations is an event series organized by Alexion to educate on rare diseases and facilitate multi-stakeholder exchange, tackling timely topics of interest such as the revision of the OMP Regulation. Rare Conversations aims to unite and engage the rare disease community, including key stakeholders in Brussels and EU Member States. Since its inception in December 2020, four Rare Conversations have taken place, each in cooperation with a different partner and focused on specific topics, such as COVID and rare diseases, the specificities of research in rare disease, and EU and national value assessment for orphan drugs. People with rare diseases always stay at the centre of our activities and are part of every event.

Crop Innovation & Business conference
2022-03-27 08:00 - 2022-03-29 17:00 | Old Fish Market (Oude Vismijn), Sint Veerleplein 5, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
On March 27-29, 2022 the CROP Innovation & Business (CropIB) conference will take place in Ghent, Belgium. CropIB is a C-level conference for management, entrepreneurs, leading scientists, investors and legal experts from the international Ag-Bio industry.

During the 3-days conference the most influential trends that will affect agricultural research, crop innovation and value chain strategies will be addressed including precision and indoor farming, artificial intelligence, consolidation, economic growth and sustainability.

The goal of the conference is to inspire, to initiate collaboration and innovation and to promote an open exchange of information. Elements like innovator pitches from startups, the involvement of young scientists and entrepreneurs will be part of the program.

Whom to meet:Around 200 delegates (CEOs, CSOs, Business executives, heads of R&D/Biotech, legal firms, key scientists, policy makers and investors) from the international Ag-Bio industry will be present from around 20 countries representing over a 100 different organisations.

REGISTER HERE

Safe and Sustainable-by-Design: a key tool to boost innovation and growth
2022-03-24 10:00 - 12:00
Hosted by MEP Maria Spyraki

Co-chair of the European Parliament Intergroup on ‘Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development’

In October 2020, The Chemical Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) was launched by the European Commission as a core element of the European Green Deal. As the CSS sets out a vision for the EU’s chemical policy, to strive for a “toxic-free environment”, it thus calls for a transition to chemicals that are Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD). The European Commission’s vision on Safe and Sustainable-by-Design moves towards a future where “Chemicals are produced/used in a way that maximizes their benefits to society while avoiding harm to planet & people and production and use of safe and sustainable chemicals in Europe becomes a benchmark worldwide”, as put forward in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.

Therefore, the SSbD concept can be turned into a mobilizing power driving for innovation and accelerating the transition towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), circularity and climate neutrality. For this reason, it is crucial that the criteria for chemicals that are Safe and Sustainable-by-Design address the three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social and economic factors – and take a life cycle approach. Moreover, a holistic and multistakeholder approach of different sectors and key players needs to be taken into consideration to achieve an inclusive and successful transition towards chemical that are Safe and Sustainable-by-Design.

In this regard, the European Parliament Intergroup on “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development”, in collaboration with Cefic, is co-organizing an online event aiming at encouraging strong involvement, dialogue and close cooperation among different stakeholders on the SSbD issue. The event will provide the opportunity to explore concrete examples on chemical innovation in the industry sector, while also creating an open discussion between EU Institutions, the NGO community and other stakeholders.

REGISTER HERE

Rare Paediatric Neurological Diseases: A Focus on Europe
2022-03-23 14:00 - 15:00
Rare paediatric neurological conditions are debilitating diseases with significant impact on the daily lives of children and their families. Most rare diseases have neurological symptoms, and about 90% of those affecting children have major neurological effects limiting the ability to achieve key cognitive and physical development milestones.

To highlight policy priorities for improving care, patient outcomes and quality of life, Economist Impact, sponsored by PTC Therapeutics undertook a project to better understand how these disorders affect the lives of patients and their families. The resulting report ‘Rare paediatric neurological diseases: A focus on Europe’ highlights the difficulties in achieving a timely and accurate diagnosis, as well as the numerous challenges to providing adequate care and support. It concludes that policymakers should work, together with other stakeholders, to develop a rare diseases healthcare ecosystem that is sufficiently resourced and organized to enable even the most complex conditions to be assessed and managed expeditiously.

National Associations Council Summit 2022 | Biotechnology: Delivering Europe's Industrial Strategy Across Sectors
2022-03-03 10:00 - 13:30
EuropaBio’s National Associations Council (NAC) is a platform that brings together all EuropaBio’s National Associations and helps to ensure coordination of EuropaBio actions throughout Europe.

The NAC represents biotechnology priorities across Europe’s Member and partner countries, working together to build long term economic and societal benefit from biotechnology across sectors.

The 2022 EuropaBio National Associations Council (NAC) Summit (France) focuses on how biotech is delivering the industrial strategy through national development.

National Associations, biotech companies, policy makers and others will discuss the commercial pathways for healthcare biotechnology to deliver innovative therapeutics to patients, and for industrial biotechnology to drive economic growth and market development.

NAC Summit outcomes will be key policy and initiative recommendations at national and EU level for the successful societal and economic performance of biotechnology across sectors.

Who should take part? If you support development of the biotech community at national or European level, or are a biotech company of any size, get involved and help debate the key drivers for successful economic delivery.

Agenda
10:00 – Opening session: French presidency priorities for biotechnology
Welcome: Tineke Van hooland, Chair EuropaBio National Associations Council
· Healthcare presidency priorities
· Industrial biotech and bioeconomy priorities

10:20 – Healthcare biotechnology: Innovative therapeutics to patients in Europe
Organisations: European Parliament, Sanofi, Tree Frog Therapeutics, HBio, AseBio, Bio.be, EuropaBio, PTC Therapeutics
Topic 1: Building from Europe’s innovation; transforming research to a sustainable and accessible healthcare
Chair: Ana Sofia Antunes, mabdesign
Company statements: Sanofi, Tree Frog Therapeutics
How do national and EU initiatis and policies help move research advances through to patient uptake? What needs to happen in order to bring momentum and investment into technologies, skills and infrastructure for next generation therapies in Europe?

Topic 2: Innovation and healthcare across borders; Delivering Europe’s strength to all
Chair: Chloé Evans, France Biotech
Company statement: Sanofi, PTC Therapeutics
How does Europe enable cross-border healthcare? The panes discusses the policy, regulatory frameworks and national collaborations that can bring ultimate benefit for European citizens.

11:30 – Break
11:45 – Industrial biotechnology and bioeconomy: Growth and innovation to market
Organisations: Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking, AFYREN, ITERG & PIVERT & IMPROVE, France 2030, BASF, HollandBio, Remilk, Bio-Base Europe Pilot Plant
Topic 3: Acceleration of business and manufacturing; investment and policy
Chair: Christophe Luguel, IAR
Company statements: AFYREN, BASF
How does Europe ride the wave of manufacturing from biological platforms? The panel discusses national initiatives and EU policies and programmes that enable long term investment into large scale manufacture and ensuring a competitive next generation industrial landscape.

Topic 4: Novel foods; A pathway to market in Europe
Chair: Agnes Borg, EuropaBio
Company statements: BASF, Remilk
Novel foods are a core part of Europe’s future sustainability and competitiveness, offering an opportunity to capitalise on world leading research. The panel will discuss the critical policy and regulatory framework that will enable investment in early stage innovators and for large scale production for European and global market performance.

13:00 – Closing plenary: Looking ahead for European industrial delivery from biotechnology
Chair: Claire Skentelbery, EuropaBio
Chairs and companies from across the sessions discuss key messages from the meeting and make recommendations for policies and initiatives at national and European levels to deliver economic contribution from biotechnology.

13:30 – Close

Speakers
Tomislav Sokol, Member of the European Parliament, EPP, Croatia
Tomislav Sokol was born in Zagreb in 1982. He obtained his first degree in law at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, in 2006, magna cum laude. He then obtained a Masters of Law (LL.M.) specialising in European Union Law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), Belgium, in 2009, magna cum laude. He defended his PhD at KUL, dealing with free movement of cross-border health care services in the EU and its impact on national health insurance systems in 2014.
He was an Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Science and Education in 2017, after which he became a Member of the Croatian Parliament. He was a Member of the Croatian Parliament until July 2019, when he became a Member of the European Parliament. He is a Member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and a Substitute Member of the Committee on Regional Development (REGI).
So far, he has published around 20 papers and 1 book on issues concerning EU law, including several articles in European journals, such as the European Law Review and the European Law Journal. He has presented papers at many international conferences and worked on different research projects. Previously, he worked in a legal practice and is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management where he has taught Introduction to European Union and Principles of Law courses since the academic year 2010/2011. He is also an assistant professor at the Catholic University of Croatia where he has taught since the academic year 2016/2017. His areas of professional interest include the law of the European common market, EU health law, competition law, International and European social law and International and European trade law.
Ana Sofia Antunes, Head of International Relations & Scientific Events, MabDesign
Ana Antunes obtained her PhD in Microbiology from the Lisbon University. She has an international career having worked both in research institutions like Institut Pasteur à Paris, or Instituto de Tecnologia Quimica e Biologica (ITQB, Portugal) as well as pharmaceutical companies as Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics (Siena, Italy). Through her career, she has been involved in the organization of scientific events such as workshops and dedicated conferences. Ana is Head of International Relations & Scientific Events at MabDesign.
Elke Duwenig, Senior Biotechnology Expert Regulatory / Public & Government Affairs, Nutrition & Health, BASF
Dr. Elke Duwenig is an inspiring senior expert, skilled in biotechnology and innovation on agricultural and life science challenges, with passion for sustainable solutions. She is currently active in Regulatory and Government Affairs for Industrial Biotechnology at Nutrition & Health, BASF SE. She was also an expert lead in the Corporate Renewable Raw Material Roadmap at BASF. Elke gives expert guidance for strategies and roadmaps as well as for R&D projects and sales products. She is strongly engaged in legislation and authority work to safeguard biotech products and opening markets together with EuropaBio, EU SFI, FEFANA, AMFEP, and other trade associations and think tanks like BIC, ILSI and AFSI, both in the EU and globally.
Elke studied biology and chemistry at the University of Münster, Germany and Stanford University, USA. She graduated and completed her doctorate in molecular plant physiology at the Institute for Gene-Biological Research (Institut für genbiologische Forschung) IGF, Berlin, and did two postdocs at the Max-Planck Institute in Golm and the University of Freiburg, Germany, before joining BASF.
Denis Chéreau, Chief Executive Officer, ITERG & PIVERT & IMPROVE
Denis Chéreau holds a Ph.D. in microbiology (production of single-cell protein by solid state fermentation).
After 15 years in the production and marketing of enzymes, he moved for 14 years in the starch industry as technical and plant manager in France and the USA.
He is currently general manager of 3 R&D centres : IMPROVE expert in plant based protein, PIVERT expert in green chemistry and biotechnologies and ITERG French institute of oil seeds and plant based fat processing.
Nicolas Sordet, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer, AFYREN
Nicolas Sordet is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of AFYREN since 2014. He holds a Master’s degree in Corporate Finance and Financial Markets from the Grenoble Management School.
He put his financial knowledge into practice by holding several positions in Investment banks and Financial Institutions in Switzerland, in the US and in Asia.
He was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Link Securities from 2006 to 2013, then Private Equity/Venture Capital and Financing Advisor from 2013 to 2014. He has been able to apply his financial expertise and experience for AFYREN development.
Virginia Puzzolo, Head of Programme, Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking
Virginia holds a doctoral degree in plant ecology and biology. For the last 20 years, she has been developing and implementing the EU research and innovation policies in several EU institutions. Virginia’s previous professional experience includes the European Commission’s Research Executive Agency, the Enterprise Directorate-General of the European Commission, the EU’s Joint Research Centre, and the Italian Research Forest Management Institute.
Ion Arocena Vélez, Director General, AseBio
Ion Arocena joined AseBio, the Spanish Bioindustry Association, in 2016 as general manager. He is a biotechnologist by training and completed his studies with an executive MBA at EOI Business School, Madrid.
He started off at the Technology Transfer Office of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, offering Technology Watch services to SMEs. His next position was at Genoma España, a Government Owned Agency promoting the protection of Intellectual Property and the transfer of such results to companies.
From 2006 to 2015, he was part of the funding team of Suanfarma Biotech SGECR, a venture capital firm, specialized in life science, where he was responsible for the evaluation of investment opportunities.
Mathieu Brandibat, National coordinator of the “Recyclability” and “Biosourced” acceleration strategies, France 2030
Mathieu Brandibat is an agronomist. Specialized in the management of information systems, he worked within fields such as the valorization of innovation and the utilities. Following a duty at the ADEME (French Agency dedicated to the ecological transition), he is now part of the Prime Minister services (General Secretariat for Investment – SGPI) involved in the national plan “France 2030” dedicated to pave an ambitious way for R&D, innovation and industrialization, as the national coordinator for strategies « recycling and reincorporation of materials » and « Biobased products and industrial biotechnologies – sustainable fuels”.
Wieteke Wouters, Programme Director, HollandBIO
Wieteke Wouters is program director of HollandBIO, the Dutch biotech industry association. HollandBIO’s mission is that biotech is able to contribute maximally to a sustainable and healthy society. With the motto “challenge the status quo”, HollandBIO takes on the obstacles that stand in the way of the sector’s innovative frontrunners.
Prior to joining HollandBIO, Wieteke worked at a consultancy firm specialized in health and sustainability. Wieteke began her career at a Leiden based biotech start-up. Wieteke graduated in Biomedical Sciences at Utrecht University and specialized in Science and Business Management.
Kevin Alessandri, PhD, Co-founder and CTO, TreeFrog Therapeutics
Initially trained in biophysics at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, Kévin Alessandri completed in 2013 a PhD thesis on cell encapsulation technologies at the Institut Curie, France. He then continued his rexearch at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, where he met Maxime Feyeux, an expert in pluripotent stem cell biology. Together, they invented a biomimetic cell culture technology – C-Stem – allowing for the mass-production of cell therapies. Alessandri and Feyeux co-founded TreeFrog Therapeutics in 2018, with the aim of providing access to safer, more efficient and more affordable cell therapies to millions of patients. Following a recent $75M Series B financing, Kevin Alessandri will move to Boston, USA, in September 2022 to lead the newly created U.S. subsidiary of TreeFrog Therapeutics.
Chloe Evans, Market Research Manager & International Relations, France Biotech
Chloé Evans is currently Head of Market Research and International Relations at France Biotech. Since 2016, she has been coordinating market research and industry publications for the association, conducting policy impact assessments and business intelligence. She also helps support and coordinate some of France Biotech’s working groups and the Association’s actions on new policies and advocacy for healthcare and biotechnology industries. Since 2019, she oversees international relations with both European and global associations and stakeholders. Prior to joining France Biotech, Chloé worked in strategy consulting for the healthcare sector at Bionest Partners and then with D&Consultants where she worked on various strategy and marketing projects for technology transfer offices, pharma and biotech companies.
Ms. Evans holds a degree in Biochemistry (BSc) from the University of Manchester (UK) and a Master’s degree in European Business and Management from ESCP Europe Business school (London/Paris).
Frédéric Druck, Managing Director, essenscia wallonia /brussels – Secretary General, bio.be/essenscia
Since September 2016, Frédéric Druck (55) is the Secretary General of bio.be/essenscia, the association of companies active in Belgian life sciences and biotechnologies industry. Frédéric is also Managing Director of essenscia wallonia and of essenscia brussels, the regional associations of the Belgian federation for chemistry and life sciences industry “essenscia”. Finally, he is chairing the Board of aptaskil, the training center for chemistry and life sciences in Wallonia as well as the Board of the EU Biotech Campus, a multi training operators platform that is part of the Belgian Recovery Plan.
Frédéric joined essenscia after spending almost 10 years at BioWin, the health cluster of Wallonia (Belgium) where he mainly developed international partnerships with biotech clusters from the US, China and Europe. During this period, he used to Chair the Council of European Bio Regions (CEBR) and the European Diagnostic Clusters Alliances (EDCA).
Frédéric did his whole career in Public Relations and Public Affairs positions in the biopharma industry as well as in sector-related associations.
Liam Sharon, Head of food technology, Remilk
MSc food molecular biology from the Hebrew university Jerusalem, Israel. BSc Food science, technology and Management from Heriot Watt University Edinburgh, Scotland. More than 15 years’ experience in the food industry with emphasis on dairy and product development. Joined Remilk as a Head of food R&D one year ago
Hendrik Waegeman, Head of Business Operations, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant
Hendrik Waegeman obtained a master degree in biochemical engineering at Ghent University (2007) and holds a PhD in Applied Biological Sciences-Chemical Engineering (2011), also obtained at Ghent University. During his doctoral research he metabolically engineered Esherichia coli to improve recombinant protein production. During his post-doctoral research, Hendrik Waegeman was involved in a number of projects that focused on the fermentative production of specialty carbohydrates. He is also a co-founder of the company Inbiose NV, founded in 2013, which develops fermentatively produced specialty carbohydrates such as human milk oligoscaccharides. In 2012 he was guest lecturer at the University of Incheon, South-Korea where he lectured a course on Metabolic Engineering and Modelling of Micro-organisms. Since 2012, he has a position at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, a multi-purpose pilot facility in the Port of Ghent in Belgium where he has worked as Head of Business Development and is now Head of Business Operations.
Hendrik is also board director of Inbisoe NV, Bio.be (the cluster of Belgian biotech companies) and Biobased Industries Consortium (BIC, the private partner in the joint undertaking Horizon2020-BBI and the upcoming joint undertaking CBE (Circular Bio-based Europe).
Stamatiki Kritas, Research & Development, Innovation Management, HBio Cluster
Christophe Luguel, Head of International Affairs, Cluster Industries & Agro-ressources (IAR)
Agnes Borg, Industrial Biotechnology Director, EuropaBio

Should you encounter any issues with the reception of the confirmation email, please contact Martina CILIA (m.cilia@europabio.org).

REGISTER HERE

ESAB Webinar: Enzyme Engineering
2022-02-25 10:00 - 12:00
Preliminary Programme / Speakers

10:00: Enzyme evolution for efficient biosynthesis of biofuel and medicine

Prof. Dr. Yan FengDistinguished Professor and Vice Dean, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

10:30: Biomolecular engineering with microbial transglutaminase

Prof. Dr. Noriho KamiyaDirector, Division of Biotechnology, Center for Future Chemistry (CFC), Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, Japan

11:00: Surfing the wave of oxyfunctionalization chemistry by engineering fungal unspecific peroxygenases

Prof. Dr. Miguel AlcaldeDepartment of Biocatalysis, Institute of Catalysis, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain

11:30: Redesign of oxidative enzymes for the biocatalytic valorisation of biomass

Prof. Dr. Marco W. FraaijeProgramme Director MSc Biomolecular Sciences, Molecular Enzymology Group, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

Flyer

Abstracts and Short Bios of the speakers

REGISTER HERE

Introducing the Innovative Health Initiative: Europe’s new partnership for health
2022-01-26 10:30 - 13:00
The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) aims to build on the successes of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and will hold a launch event in a virtual setting on Wednesday, January 26th, from 10:30am to 1:00pm.

The event will be broken up into two sessions:

In the first session, IHI Executive Director Dr Pierre Meulien will present IHI and explain why we are launching a new European partnership for health. He will also describe what’s new compared to the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), and what will stay the same. IHI staff will then present opportunities for stakeholders to get involved in IHI, for example by applying to become a member of the IHI Science and Innovation Panel (SIP), or by becoming an expert evaluator. They will also offer a preview of the draft topics under consideration for inclusion in the first IHI call for proposals.

The second session will feature a high-level discussion during which representatives of the IHI partners, namely the European Commission, COCIR, EFPIA, Vaccines Europe, EuropaBio and MedTech Europe, will present their vision for IHI.

Both sessions will include time for questions from participants.

More info here

How can stronger IP in EU Free Trade Agreements boost productivity and economic growth in Europe?
2022-01-11 10:30 - 11:45
You are invited to join a virtual event seeking to discuss the economic and societal value of intellectual property rights (IPRs) for Europe.

How do IPRs in EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) support EU strategic resilience and global competitiveness in a post-COVID world? What are the concrete benefits of robust IPRs for EU member states? How important is IP for innovation, in particular for the green and digital societal transformations? Why should IPRs be given a more prominent role in EU policy making, especially when it comes to EU FTAs? These are some of the questions that our guest speakers will address during the panel discussion.

Following the presentation of a recent ECIPE report, the speakers will explore how stronger IPR provisions in EU FTAs contribute to EU and EU Member State economic and societal ambitions.

Speakers:

Fredrik Erixon, Director, ECIPEMaria Martin-Prat, Deputy Director – General, DG TRADENathalie Moll, Director General, EFPIALuisa Santos, Deputy Director General, BusinessEurope

If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact ECIPE at events@ecipe.org

We look forward to virtually meeting you on 11 January!

Register
