What strategy should be followed by a cluster organisation for the development of Liège's biotech ecosystem ? The case of Bridge2Health.

Abstract

In 2011, key actors of Liège’s scientific and economic world decided to start Bridge2Health (B2H), an organisation dedicated to support the development of high-value healthcare projects. Since its creation, managers of B2H have been struggling to develop an adequate strategy and business model. At the same time, Liège’s biotech industry has grown rapidly, both through the development of endogenous companies as well as the attraction of exogenous enterprises. This fast development gave rise to the need of having a dedicated cluster organisation that structures, represents and supports the local biotech environment. To fulfil this objective, directors of B2H want to address the question: “What strategy should be followed by a cluster organisation for the development of Liège’s biotech ecosystem? The case of Bridge2Health.” The theoretical part allowed to highlight the forms of biotech clusters and their creation processes. The literature showed the importance and benefits of clustering in the biotechnology economy, which allows to benefit of productivity advantages, to support and foster innovation and to enhance entrepreneurship. The key success factors that are required for the creation and development of a successful biotech cluster include actionable and contextual factors that can be grouped into 4 categories: financial, scientific, industrial and supporting factors. A fifth category, related to cluster organisations, has been analysed. This analysis is completed by a description of services and activities performed by such an organisation. The theoretical section ends with the identification of the 15 best biotech clusters in Europe. The practical part of this work starts with a description of the existing biotech ecosystem in Wallonia and in Liège. This description has been completed with the interviews of 12 CEOs of local biotech companies. This first qualitative phase highlighted the importance of public funding in the current sectorial development. Meetings with local CEOs also allowed to get a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the ecosystem. The second qualitative phase consisted in meeting with 12 managers of European biotech cluster organisations. Exchanges have led to highlight 6 best practices that are common to successful organisations. The observed key success factors include the structuration, the management and staff, the governance and the integration in the ecosystem, the support to entrepreneurship and finally the ability to co-exist with other organisations.

Together, those qualitative phases allowed to underscore the key success factors that must be developed as well as the best practices to follow to attain excellence. The conclusion of this report includes recommendations for the strategic development of Bridge2Health. First, it is recommended to adopt a one-stop shop structure, where all competencies to support companies are grouped. Second, regional integration and cooperation with regional actors are essential to develop synergies and operate as efficiently as possible. Third, key activities have been defined, with the prior objective of reinforcing Liège’s ecosystem. Finally, this work ends with recommendations on governance, management and staff.