Our strategic initiatives

Ann Van Gysel on a panel

Paving the way for health innovation

MEDVIA is uniquely able to work towards long-term, big picture goals by acting as a unifying force for all the stakeholders in our ecosystem: enterprises, healthcare providers, government and patients. 

We host discussions with our members to identify hurdles and enact solutions to complex challenges encountered by healthtech and social entrepreneurs in Flanders.

Our goal is to facilitate health innovation and bring about benefits for everyone in the ecosystem.

Future-proofing Flanders

Our Strategic Initiatives support our health innovation ecosystem by providing: 

A helicopter view

Providing a helicopter view of the focal topic, to keep our members informed of the latest developments, events and key stakeholders through newsletters and events.

Collaborative projects

Creating collaborative projects together with our members to create tangible output and outcomes (e.g. case studies, R&D and systems innovation).

A collective voice

Representing a collective voice for our members, engaging constructively with government and other decision-making bodies for actionable progress and problem solving.

Members lead the way

The topics for our Strategic Initiatives are chosen by our members, identified through member-driven dialogues and working groups. Together, we prioritize globally significant topics, reflecting the inherently international landscape of health innovation and build roadmaps for the future of Flanders.

 We currently have two Strategic Initiatives: ATMP and Digital health. 

ATMP

Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) are based on genes, tissues or cells and offer groundbreaking new opportunities for treatments. Our members have chosen ATMP as a Strategic Initiative as this is a field in which Belgium already excels on the world stage, presenting ample opportunities for cross-regional collaborations, but also because there is still a new sector where collaboration is key to strengthening our expertise and cementing our leading position. 

Want to stay up to date on ATMP? Visit our news and events pages or subscribe to our newsletter. 

Current ATMP projects:

PRECISEU

Connecting innovation ecosystems across Europe to efficiently advance towards a truly personalized healthcare, focusing on ATMP and Health Data
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ATMP XB (Cross Border)

Status: Application submitted (awaiting approval)
A proposed Interreg project between 13 partners in Flanders and The Netherlands focused on the enhancement of ATMP Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) infrastructure and establishing an Excellence Center for training and best practices.

ATMP Flanders

Status: In development
A project idea for a one-stop-shop for expertise and information on the ATMP ecosystem in Flanders. The aim is to establish a central hub and directory in collaboration with existing Flemish stakeholders (including GATE, ATLAS, CESPE, Smart Hub Vlaams-Brabant and flanders.bio).

Digital Health

Digital health uses technologies like AI, software and sensors to enhance the efficiency of healthcare delivery and make medicine more personalized and precise. This is an area of monumental global importance, which MEDVIA members picked as a Strategic Initiative because Flanders has all the right ingredients to be a leading European region, but where we need to collaborate and improve our regulations regarding the safe and ethical (re)use of health data in order to keep thriving. 

Interested in the latest in Digital Health? Visit our news and events pages or subscribe to our newsletter. 

Current Digital Health Projects:

HealthChain

An I3 Instrument boosting digital transformation of healthcare across European regions
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InnoMedCatalyst

Advancing the 5P medicine ecosystem by boosting the capabilities of stakeholders to develop, test and refine digital health solutions
Visit website

Want to know more about our Strategic Initiatives or take part in an ATMP or Digital Health project?

International Initiatives

Internationalization efforts
Are you a MEDVIA member i
nterested in expanding your horizons? Find out more about our international missions (including ‘Say yes to the US’) and internationalization workshops.

Cross-border collaboration is key to innovation, which is why MEDVIA connects with other regions and cluster organizations across the world to improve health for all.

Current EU Projects:

NoBoCap

Empowering the medtech industry by enhancing the efficiency of Notified Bodies and Market Operators, unlocking regulations, and fostering health technology innovation across Europe
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HICEE

The Healthy Investment Central Eastern Europe (HICEE) project aims to foster a dynamic early-stage investment ecosystem across Central and Eastern Europe
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Medic Nest Meta-Cluster

Alliance of European clusters and business-support organizations committed to inter-cluster, cross-border and cross-sectoral collaboration in precision medicine
Visit website

Want to know more about our international initiatives?

Better together

and are joining forces in a brand new organization

The members of MEDVIA and flanders.bio have voted to merge their activities in the first half of 2025. With a united voice, we will champion the entire healthtech and biotech ecosystem on the regional, federal and European stage.

The merger allows MEDVIA and flanders.bio to align activities and deliver more powerful support for our collective members. We will achieve greater impact with more dynamic networking opportunities, better directed funding and increased efficiency, sharpening our focus in common areas and drafting strategic roadmaps for Flanders.