Fertile climate for business
The life sciences industry is a global industry. International orientation is a hallmark of the Netherlands and foreign trade has long been essential to the Dutch economy, the fifteenth largest in the world.
In February 2004 the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked the Netherlands the number one country in Europe and number two in the world for its overall business environment over the next five years (2004-2008).
The Netherlands has an open-minded and pragmatic business culture. Good ideas are valued and given a chance. Authorities have a pro-business attitude and the government actively stimulates new research-driven economic activity and has always been supportive of public-private partnerships.
Life sciences academic groups are experienced in dealing with industrial research and are open to discussing collaboration with new partners. Sharing knowledge is very common, as is sharing resources to develop intellectual property. Because of the longstanding partnerships between universities and life sciences companies, the Netherlands offers a wealth of opportunity for foreign companies to join the Dutch life sciences network.
The Netherlands Genomics Initiative (NGI) is a good
example of the integral approach favored by the government.
Conveniently located in Europe
The Netherlands is located in an ideal spot on the European continent. Key European life sciences centers in the UK, Germany, France and Scandinavia are only a one-hour flight away. The country provides a strategic location to serve markets within the expanded European Union, the Middle East and Africa.
The Netherlands’ central location, combined with a good accessibility and an excellent infrastructure, have proven to be very attractive for the numerous European, North American and Asian companies that have established their facilities here.
Top-level knowledge and technology infrastructure for life sciences
When it comes to cutting-edge technologies essential to life sciences, the Netherlands has it all:
Wide range of facilities and well-educated staff
The BioPartner initiative, established by the Ministry of Economic Affairs to stimulate life sciences start-ups, has generated facilities throughout the country that cater to starting as well as maturing companies. Offices, lab space and supporting services are readily available. Being the largest Internet hub in Europe, the Netherlands can boast an advanced and reliable IT infrastructure that offers easy and affordable access to large bandwidth connections.
The Dutch population is highly educated and uncommonly multilingual; English is spoken by the vast majority of the population. Dutch universities offer dedicated Master-level programs in life sciences and bioinformatics. The Netherlands is unique in offering dedicated full curricula for lab technicians at higher vocational level.
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"Genzyme chose to establish its first European operations in the Netherlands in 1991. We selected the Netherlands because of the country's supportive environment for business in general and for biotechnology in particular. In addition, we wanted to be near the world-class clinical research being conducted at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. Over the past 13 years, we have significantly expanded our workforce in Naarden, which now serves as the hub of our European organization of approximately 1,500 employees. We our proud of our commitment to the Netherlands, and we look forward to a bright future there." |
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