Maastricht in the Netherlands is proving its credentials as a major bio-hub thanks to three major international conferences targeting the sector and all due to be held at MECC Maastricht.
These three events are the annual European Conference on Biomaterials (9-13 September), followed by the European Congress on Biotechnology in 2020 and finally, the Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB) in 2021.
MECC Maastricht and the Maastricht Convention Bureau worked closely with the province and city to win these conferences, but also brainstormed with parties such as Maastricht University, Brightlands Health Campus, MUMC+, DSM, TU Eindhoven and Chemelot.
The Brightlands campuses are testimony to Maastricht and the region becoming one of the most promising areas for growth when it comes to research on biomaterials and the application of these in clinical practice.
In recent years, many companies in the region have placed a special focus on the development of innovative biomaterials, which may be used in the human body or other living systems.
These applications include the development of complete heart valves, tissue for bone reconstruction and even minuscule artificial ‘spheres’ measuring a hundredth of a millimetre filled with antibiotics that release medicine at the exact location of an infection.
Up to 950 international experts are expected to take part in the European Biomaterials Conference this month and chairman of the conference professor Dr Pamela Habibović has said: “The current developments in biomaterials and regenerative medicine taking place in Maastricht and the local area have not gone unnoticed in the Netherlands and beyond.
“Limburg is the place where university research groups, hospitals, business and, uniquely enough, the province, all work together to produce innovations that can make the difference for patients. It’s really only logical that the international experts come together in Maastricht to talk about these innovations.”
Photo courtesy of Sacha Ruland
