Regenerative Medicine in the Netherlands receives a boost thanks to RegMed XB

October 3, 2023

Erik Eijrond and Jan Rietsema

Erik Eijrond and Jan Rietsema

Quickly scaling up the latest therapies for a large number of chronically ill patients was the main reason for the universities of Maastricht, Eindhoven, Utrecht, and Leiden, along with four involved provinces and several health funds, to establish RegMed XB in 2017. In 2021, with the support of the National Growth Fund, a pilot factory was built to accelerate the introduction of regenerative therapies to the market.

Accelerating Regenerative Therapies to Market

Erik Eijrond, Director of Business Operations at RegMed XB, shares the origin of the project’s name: “RegMed stands for regenerative medicine, XB for Crossing Borders. This refers to literal national borders, but it also signifies breaking down figurative barriers to develop new therapies. Regenerative medicine explores treatments that rely on the body’s self-healing ability. This way, the body repairs, replaces, or restores cells and tissues on its own. With this form of medicine, organ transplants can be avoided, increasing the chances of healing for people with chronic diseases like diabetes, kidney and heart diseases, as well as arthritis.”

Five collaborative pilot lines support companies and research institutions in developing new regenerative therapies and products. Jan Rietsema is the director of the Smart BioMaterials Consortium (SBMC) in Eindhoven, one of the five pilot lines. He explains, “There is a lot of research on the possibilities of regenerative therapies and products, but only a small portion of it actually reaches the patient. The goal of the pilot factory is to bring more regenerative therapies to the market faster. Globally, the Netherlands is at the forefront of regenerative medicine knowledge. Thanks in part to the programs initiated by RegMed XB, the emerging industry in the Netherlands is now getting a boost.”

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‘State of the art’ Facilities

Rietsema continues, “Accelerating the development of new products is a significant challenge. It requires specialized knowledge and expertise. We have acquired that expertise: we now have ‘state of the art’ facilities for further research, validation, and production. Such facilities demand substantial investments. In 2020, we submitted an application to the National Growth Fund. In 2021, the fund decided to invest a total of €56 million, of which €23 million was unconditional. The first year required demonstrating progress and potential to receive the full amount, which we achieved. The remaining €33 million was made available a year later.”

Pilot Contributes to Sustainable Economic Growth

The National Growth Fund invests in projects that contribute to sustainable economic growth. According to Eijrond, the pilot factory also contributes to this: “First and foremost, it facilitates many companies in bringing their products to the market faster. Additionally, a complete ecosystem forms around each pilot line. The knowledge and expertise developed within such an ecosystem make the Netherlands an attractive place for businesses to establish themselves.”

The investment gave the pilot factory a flying start. Rietsema emphasizes the added value of the National Growth Fund for RegMed XB and the Dutch economy: “At the beginning, there are naturally no customers. So, we depended on the fund. Thanks to this investment, we accelerate the translation of research results from the lab into therapies for chronically ill patients.”

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