The biotechnology industries of Belgium and the Netherlands are important components of the scientific landscape in both countries. Biotechnology's relative importance for the job market, however, is bigger in Belgium.

There are around 60 biotechnology companies in the Netherlands, and around 50 in Belgium, according to a recent report by the consultancy Ernst &Young. The Netherlands and Belgium rank seventh and eighth in Europe in terms of the number of biotechnology companies, says the report.

In 1997, biotech companies in Belgium employed 4,500 people and invested BEF8.6 billion in research. Two of Europe's financially most successful biotech companies, Innogenetics and Plant Genetic Systems, are based in Ghent.

The regional Belgian governments provide increasing amounts of financial support for new initiatives. This year, the Flemish government approved a BEF110 million grant to expand Pharming, a Dutch pharmaceutical company. The money will be used to build a plant in Geels. At least 50 scientific jobs will be created.

In 1995, the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology was set up near Ghent to coordinate in a single autonomous institute the work of nine top university research teams and five associated laboratories. One of the institute's goals is to found spin-off companies, such as DevGen and CropDesign. The institute, employing 700 scientists, is sponsored by the Flemish government to the tune of BEF947 million a year.

Career prospects in Belgium's biotechnology industry are excellent. “We have to employ senior scientists from abroad,” says Désiré Collin of the University of Leuven. Flemish universities now offer a masters degree in biomedical science to meet the increasing demand for staff.

There is no analogous biotechnology boom in the Netherlands. “We are light-years behind developments in Britain and Germany,” says Frank Grosveld, a molecular biologist at the University of Rotterdam. Successful young companies, such as Leiden-based Introgene and Pharming, are the exception. During 1997 and 1998 only ten start-ups entered the market — far less than in Switzerland, Sweden or Belgium.

The lack of big pharmaceutical companies that could serve as catalysts for start-ups is viewed by many as the main problem. And the legal framework is very strict in the Netherlands, where public attitudes to biotechnology tend to be hostile. So some companies have started operations across the Belgian border. “There is also a lack of entrepreneurial culture at Dutch universities,” says Menno Horning of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The Dutch government is starting a DFL30 million life-science programme this summer, aimed at increasing the number and quality of biotech companies. “We want to stimulate creative young scientists to start their own business rather than selling licences to big companies,” says Horning.