Big Pharma Firms Were Among Big Investors in Belgium Last Year
Big Pharma companies Pfizer, Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson were among the big investors last year in the Flanders region of Northern Belgium, where U.S. companies alone funded 34 new investment projects, amounting to $642 million — a third of all foreign investment in the region, according to Flanders Investment & Trade.
Most of these investments were made in the pharmaceutical ($269 million), food ($98 million) and chemical industries ($26 million). American companies mainly invested in manufacturing ($320 million) and R&D activities ($264 million), with logistics ($4 million) completing the top three spots.
A range of pharmaceutical R&D and production facilities are located in the region, producing “over 5 percent of the global output of pharmaceuticals,” according to the trade group, which notes on its website that Flanders is “number 1 in Europe and number 2 in the world when it comes to clinical trials” in a region that “produces a sixth of all medications originating from the (European Union).”
The life sciences sector is supported by various universities, academic hospitals, research centers and incubators, attracting multinational enterprises to partner with spinoffs, startups, and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating across several disciplines.
The location, along with its infrastructure, also serves as a logistics hub for foreign multinational companies, with some 75 percent of the EU’s gross national product located within 500 miles of the region, and 60 percent of Europe’s purchasing power found within 300 miles.
Aside from companies in life sciences sector, recent big investors included United Parcel Service and Mohawk Industries.
Present in Belgium since the mid-1980s, UPS recently funneled over $4 million into the construction of a brand-new distribution center in Lummen, Flanders, in 2016. The facility will be able to process up to 5,000 packages per hour. Earlier, U.S. flooring manufacturer Mohawk Industries purchased Belgium-based IVC, a vinyl floor production company for roughly $1 billion in 2015. Mohawk channeled an additional $115 million into the production facility last year.
For more information on pharmaceuticals in the region: www.flandersinvestmentandtrade.com/invest/en/sectors/life-sciences-health/pharma.
Written by Mike Bota
