PharmaNL

The PharmaNL program was set up following the allocated funding from the Dutch National Growth Fund (NGF) in 2022 and includes two program lines:

1. Shared Development Infrastructure (SDI)
2. Human Capital Growth (HCG)

Both nationally coordinated program lines address the two key prerequisites for successful pharmaceutical innovation: accessible infrastructure and a well-equipped workforce with future-oriented expertise.

The pharmaceutical industry is growing rapidly worldwide and provides high added value to the economy. The Netherlands has a strongly developed pharmaceutical value chain with world-class scientific expertise. However, the economic potential of the Dutch pharmaceutical industry remains greatly underutilized because a number of requirements for successful lab-to-life value creation are insufficiently developed. One of the missing requirements is the availability of innovative infrastructure, such as laboratory equipment. An integral approach is therefore needed to address the structural market failure that currently prevents the Dutch pharmaceutical value chain from realizing its full economic and societal potential.

The PharmaNL program lines provide the framework for the careful allocation of the funds made available by the National Growth Fund (NGF). The NGF was established to provide financial resources that strengthen the Netherlands’ sustainable earning capacity in the long term through investments in various domains. PharmaNL is one of the projects awarded funding by the NGF.

The main objective of PharmaNL is to strengthen the entire Dutch pharmaceutical value chain. By investing in the development of medicines and the required technologies, the Netherlands can better benefit from new therapies. In addition, the PharmaNL program aims to improve the nations business climate for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

PharmaNL also strives to make the life sciences field more attractive to current and future students, enabling them to contribute to the growing activities in the field of drug development.

To achieve this, two nationally coordinated program lines have been established:

‘Shared Development Infrastructure’ aims to establish a shared infrastructure for the development, upscaling and production of innovative medicines that can be used by pharmaceutical start-ups, scale-ups and academic groups.
To the page PharmaNL SDI

'Human Capital Growth’ aims to boost the range of pharmaceutical educational programs available at postgraduate level in a targeted way, partly with the opportunities for hybrid and lifelong learning.
To the page PharmaNL HCG

* Hybrid lifelong learning: imparting and continuously updating professional knowledge in the rapidly evolving life sciences industry in the most effective way possible.

To align effectively with the challenges and needs within the pharmaceutical sector, PharmaNL collects input from sector representatives through gap analyses and expert sessions. All input is consolidated into an investment agenda. This investment agenda is published by PharmaNL and forms the basis for a funding call. The ZonMw funding calls therefore aim to address the specific themes identified in the investment agenda. The investment agenda is only available in Dutch.

PharmaNL is an initiative by and for the Dutch pharmaceutical sector, supported by a national public-private consortium consisting of:

• Pivot Park
• Leiden University
• Campus Groningen

The PharmaNL program consists of two program lines with several funding rounds. For each program line, a committee is established to assess the grant applications. During the course of the program lines, the committees may be supplemented with additional members, depending on the content of the funding rounds. For each round, a decision is made on which members will participate in the assessment committee.

Personal title

Committee members are appointed in on a personal title and therefore do not participate on behalf of an organization. Each committee consists of experts from the fields of research, development, and implementation, who, based on their scientific or societal position, have a clear understanding of the area of focus.

Composition of the committee

Committee members are appointed in a personal capacity and therefore do not participate on behalf of an organization. Each committee consists of experts from the fields of research, development, and implementation, who—based on their scientific or societal position—have a clear understanding of the area of focus.

Assessment of grant applications

The committee evaluates the relevance and quality of the grant applications in relation to the objectives of the program. In addition, within the PharmaNL program, the quality of the proposals is assessed by independent external (international) reviewers. More information about ZonMw’s procedures can be found on the ZonMw website.

Management of personal interests

Appointed committee members are active in research or implementation and may therefore have an interest in certain grant applications. ZonMw applies a strict policy regarding the management of personal interests and ensures the avoidance of any appearance of bias. More information can be found in the Code of Conduct on the Management of Personal Interests and on ZonMw’s Legislation and Regulations webpage.