Scientific research and development: the largest employers in East Flanders
As of 14 Nov 2026, 71 companies in Scientific research and development (NACE 72) in East Flanders report employees in recent accounts (financial years 2023 to 2026). The 10 largest employers account for 3,050 FTE, out of 3,666.6 for all of them; median headcount is 9.7 FTE. Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie - Flanders Institute for Biotechnology leads with 928.4 FTE (financial year 2025).
Top 50 · Scientific research and development · East Flanders
Ranked by average headcount (FTE) reported in the latest filed accounts (accounts less than 3 years old).
| # | Company | Total assets | Revenue | Equity | FTE | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie - Flanders Institute for Biotechnology 9052 Ghent | €323.7m | €52.6m | €172.4m | 928.4 | 2025 |
| 2 | Legend Biotech Belgium 9052 Ghent | €142.4m | €285.9m | €62.9m | 846.9 | 2025 |
| 3 | argenx 9052 Ghent | €7.01bn | €3.80bn | €5.71bn | 510.9 | 2025 |
| 4 | Ablynx 9052 Ghent | €417.3m | €147.9m | €359.2m | 363.5 | 2025 |
| 5 | Viaverda 9070 Destelbergen | €14.2m | — | €9.68m | 93.3 | 2025 |
| 6 | Eurofins Amatsigroup 9052 Ghent | €6.78m | €17.5m | €3.65m | 76.4 | 2025 |
| 7 | Confo Therapeutics 9052 Ghent | €37.8m | 176,727 € | €33.3m | 59.0 | 2025 |
| 8 | Biotalys 9051 Ghent | €16.3m | — | €9.87m | 58.2 | 2025 |
| 9 | Aphea.Bio 9052 Ghent | €16.2m | 14,118 € | €11.4m | 56.9 | 2025 |
| 10 | Inari Agriculture, NV 9052 Ghent | €12.1m | €12.1m | €10.2m | 56.5 | 2025 |
| 11 | ProDigest 9052 Ghent | €7.83m | — | €5.16m | 39.8 | 2025 |
| 12 | Omega Pharma Innovation & Development 9050 Ghent | €246.6m | €16.3m | €240.2m | 38.2 | 2025 |
| 13 | Oystershell 9820 Merelbeke-Melle | €32.7m | €39.8m | €15.1m | 37.6 | 2025 |
| 14 | BAAC Vlaanderen 9968 Assenede | €2.34m | — | 905,507 € | 37.1 | 2025 |
| 15 | Orionis Biosciences 9052 Ghent | €6.88m | €11.6m | €4.92m | 36.3 | 2025 |
| 16 | BioLizard 9000 Ghent | €5.26m | — | €3.67m | 34.2 | 2025 |
| 17 | Microbial Resource Management Health 9052 Ghent | €11.7m | — | €6.93m | 22.8 | 2025 |
| 18 | NewMilkLab 9052 Ghent | €2.32m | — | 497,664 € | 21.4 | 2025 |
| 19 | Raap België 9810 Nazareth-De Pinte | 997,017 € | — | 535,887 € | 19.3 | 2025 |
| 20 | Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Medicine Belgium NV 9940 Evergem | €6.51m | 0 € | €5.56m | 17.9 | 2025 |
| 21 | Emtex 9170 Sint-Gillis-Waas | €1.61m | — | 799,341 € | 17.5 | 2025 |
| 22 | Imaqua 9080 Lochristi | 628,500 € | — | 195,082 € | 17.5 | 2025 |
| 23 | Protealis 9052 Ghent | €11.1m | — | €9.06m | 17.2 | 2025 |
| 24 | Vervit 9080 Lochristi | €5.38m | — | 588,934 € | 16.0 | 2025 |
| 25 | Cryptobiotix 9052 Ghent | €5.70m | — | €3.70m | 15.8 | 2025 |
| 26 | ILiAD Biotechnologies 9052 Ghent | €1.06m | — | 25,626 € | 14.4 | 2025 |
| 27 | PharmaFluidics 9052 Ghent | €16.4m | €1.44m | €15.9m | 13.8 | 2025 |
| 28 | AmphiStar 9052 Ghent | €10.1m | — | €6.40m | 13.5 | 2025 |
| 29 | Belgisch Centrum voor Technologisch Onderzoek van Leidingen en Toebehoren 9090 Merelbeke-Melle | €5.05m | — | €4.22m | 12.6 | 2025 |
| 30 | Zymofix 9032 Ghent | €2.41m | — | €1.58m | 12.4 | 2025 |
| 31 | S-Biomedic 9052 Ghent | €5.94m | — | €1.85m | 12.2 | 2025 |
| 32 | Ooginstituut 9300 Aalst | €2.35m | — | €1.68m | 11.8 | 2025 |
| 33 | Toku-E EU 9051 Ghent | €4.20m | — | 85,759 € | 11.8 | 2025 |
| 34 | Regionaal Landschap Vlaamse Ardennen tot Dender 9600 Ronse | 869,611 € | — | 489,759 € | 11.5 | 2025 |
| 35 | Kwaliteitscentrum voor Diagnostiek 9000 Ghent | 513,364 € | — | 393,848 € | 10.4 | 2025 |
| 36 | Xper Research 9700 Oudenaarde | €1.11m | — | 462,336 € | 9.7 | 2025 |
| 37 | myNeo 9000 Ghent | €2.21m | — | 581,968 € | 9.0 | 2025 |
| 38 | Biomedical Application of Research in Infectious Diseases Control 9052 Ghent | €3.69m | — | €1.20m | 8.9 | 2025 |
| 39 | Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse Taal en Letteren 9000 Ghent | €1.52m | 593 € | 998,004 € | 6.4 | 2025 |
| 40 | Zomagen Biosciences Belgium 9052 Ghent | €1.83m | — | 467,552 € | 6.2 | 2025 |
| 41 | Sillar Clinical 9831 Sint-Martens-Latem | 811,427 € | — | 85,117 € | 5.9 | 2025 |
| 42 | Puxano 9000 Ghent | €2.43m | — | €2.10m | 5.5 | 2025 |
| 43 | Biolynx 9000 Ghent | €1.49m | — | 586,138 € | 4.8 | 2025 |
| 44 | Cell-Cell Bio 9052 Ghent | 990,571 € | — | 588,405 € | 4.5 | 2025 |
| 45 | Axithra 9052 Ghent | €8.60m | — | €8.01m | 4.2 | 2025 |
| 46 | Bio INX 9052 Ghent | €1.24m | — | −272,921 € | 4.0 | 2025 |
| 47 | Devgen 9052 Ghent | €130.9m | €1.13m | €128.3m | 2.9 | 2025 |
| 48 | Vixen Biosystems 9052 Ghent | €1.19m | — | 154,851 € | 2.8 | 2025 |
| 49 | Fertiga 9340 Lede | €2.06m | — | €1.97m | 2.8 | 2025 |
| 50 | Lavima fertility 9300 Aalst | 863,324 € | — | −423,981 € | 2.8 | 2025 |
Ranking based on each company's own annual accounts (statutory, not consolidated): a subsidiary and its parent appear separately, and the ranking differs from lists based on consolidated group accounts. Headcount reported by the company for all its sites: the jobs may be located elsewhere.
“—”: not published. Small companies (micro and abridged accounts) do not have to publish their revenue.
Scientific research and development across Belgium → All sectors · East Flanders →
Other sectors · East Flanders
- 01 Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities376
- 02 Forestry and logging14
- 10 Manufacture of food products536
- 11 Manufacture of beverages40
- 13 Manufacture of textiles110
- 14 Manufacture of wearing apparel33
- 16 Manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials115
- 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products41
- 18 Printing and reproduction of recorded media115
- 20 Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products105
- 21 Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations22
- 22 Manufacture of rubber and plastic products86
- 23 Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products148
- 24 Manufacture of basic metals36
- 25 Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment429
- 26 Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products51
- 27 Manufacture of electrical equipment56
- 28 Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.155
- 29 Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers37
- 30 Manufacture of other transport equipment12
- 31 Manufacture of furniture113
- 32 Other manufacturing70
- 33 Repair, maintenance and installation of machinery and equipment146
- 35 Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply24
- 37 Sewerage21
- 38 Waste collection, recovery and disposal activities87
- 41 Construction of residential and non-residential buildings824
- 42 Civil engineering353
- 43 Specialised construction activities2,546
- 46 Wholesale trade2,074
- 47 Retail trade2,478
- 49 Land transport and transport via pipelines738
- 50 Water transport18
- 52 Warehousing, storage and support activities for transportation163
- 53 Postal and courier activities27
- 55 Accommodation147
- 56 Food and beverage service activities1,693
- 58 Publishing activities71
- 59 Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities72
- 61 Telecommunication15
- 62 Computer programming, consultancy and related activities686
- 63 Computing infrastructure, data processing, hosting and other information service activities42
- 64 Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding530
- 66 Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities435
- 68 Real estate activities595
- 69 Legal and accounting activities695
- 70 Activities of head offices and management consultancy557
- 71 Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis442
- 73 Activities of advertising, market research and public relations151
- 74 Other professional, scientific and technical activities79
- 75 Veterinary activities64
- 77 Rental and leasing activities114
- 78 Employment activities76
- 79 Travel agency, tour operator and other reservation service and related activities63
- 80 Investigation and security activities10
- 81 Services to buildings and landscape activities378
- 82 Office administrative, office support and other business support activities183
- 84 Public administration and defence; compulsory social security13
- 85 Education120
- 86 Human health activities769
- 87 Residential care activities115
- 88 Social work activities without accommodation138
- 90 Arts creation and performing arts activities71
- 92 Gambling and betting activities18
- 93 Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities182
- 94 Activities of membership organisations73
- 95 Repair and maintenance of computers, personal and household goods, and motor vehicles and motorcycles216
- 96 Personal service activities306
Municipalities with the most companies in the sector · East Flanders
- 9052 Ghent (Zwijnaarde)29
- 9000 Ghent22
- 9300 Aalst10
- 9940 Evergem (Ertvelde, Kluizen, Sleidinge)7
- 9051 Ghent (Afsnee, Sint-Denijs-Westrem)6
- 9050 Ghent (Gentbrugge, Ledeberg)5
- 9080 Lochristi (Beervelde, Zaffelare, Zeveneken)5
- 9200 Dendermonde (Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, …)5
- 9700 Oudenaarde (Bevere, Edelare, Eine, …)5
- 9070 Destelbergen (Heusden)4
- 9800 Deinze (Astene, Bachte-Maria-Leerne, Gottem, …)4
- 9820 Merelbeke-Melle (Bottelare, Lemberge, Melsen, …)4
Frequently asked questions
Which is the largest employer in Scientific research and development in East Flanders?
Among companies, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie - Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, with 928.4 full-time equivalents reported (financial year 2025).
Are all the jobs located in the area?
Not necessarily: headcount is reported by the company for all its sites, and the company is ranked by the address of its registered office. 71 out of 171 companies in the sector report employees there.
Why does this ranking differ from other lists?
It uses each company's annual accounts as filed with the National Bank, not consolidated group accounts. A holding, a subsidiary or a purchasing entity can therefore appear separately. Only companies whose latest accounts are less than 3 years old are ranked.
Analyse companies · East Flanders
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Open the full file →Active companies (legal entities) that have filed at least one set of annual accounts, based on the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises and the National Bank of Belgium. The sector is the main activity in the register; the municipality is that of the registered office. Data updated on 14 Nov 2026.