Ranking · Flanders · NACE 72
Scientific research and development: the largest employers in Flanders
As of 12 Nov 2026, 176 companies in Scientific research and development (NACE 72) in Flanders report employees in recent accounts (financial years 2023 to 2026). The 10 largest employers account for 8,113.4 FTE, out of 11,328.1 for all of them; median headcount is 6 FTE. Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum leads with 2,904.3 FTE (financial year 2025).
Top 50 · Scientific research and development · 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 | Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum 3001 Leuven | €1.27bn | €804.3m | €512.1m | 2,904.3 | 2025 |
| 2 | Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek 2400 Mol | €256.2m | €88.2m | €88.8m | 969.8 | 2025 |
| 3 | Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie - Flanders Institute for Biotechnology 9052 Ghent | €323.7m | €52.6m | €172.4m | 928.4 | 2025 |
| 4 | Legend Biotech Belgium 9052 Ghent | €142.4m | €285.9m | €62.9m | 846.9 | 2025 |
| 5 | Basf Belgium Coordination Center 2040 Antwerp | €215.4m | €627.4m | €105.9m | 555.7 | 2025 |
| 6 | argenx 9052 Ghent | €7.01bn | €3.80bn | €5.71bn | 510.9 | 2025 |
| 7 | Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde 2000 Antwerp | €68.1m | €21.1m | €36.2m | 454.9 | 2025 |
| 8 | Ablynx 9052 Ghent | €417.3m | €147.9m | €359.2m | 363.5 | 2025 |
| 9 | TMC Science & Technology 1930 Zaventem | €24.0m | €41.8m | €3.00m | 324.5 | 2025 |
| 10 | LabCorp 2800 Mechelen | €36.1m | €64.2m | €26.0m | 254.5 | 2025 |
| 11 | CellCarta 2610 Antwerp | €60.5m | €79.9m | €25.9m | 242.7 | 2025 |
| 12 | Flanders Make 3920 Lommel | €234.7m | €32.3m | €26.0m | 218.6 | 2025 |
| 13 | Biocartis 2800 Mechelen | €61.8m | €48.2m | €37.2m | 205.6 | 2025 |
| 14 | Cargill R&D Centre Europe 1800 Vilvoorde | €99.2m | €62.7m | €74.3m | 186.9 | 2025 |
| 15 | Lakefront Biotherapeutics 2800 Mechelen | €3.34bn | €1.10bn | €3.15bn | 172.9 | 2025 |
| 16 | Institut Flamand de la Mer 8400 Ostend | €27.0m | €1.86m | €18.2m | 168.0 | 2025 |
| 17 | von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics 1640 Sint-Genesius-Rode | €67.4m | €9.76m | €27.0m | 158.0 | 2025 |
| 18 | Poulpharm 8870 Izegem | €15.5m | €17.0m | €2.17m | 106.0 | 2025 |
| 19 | Viaverda 9070 Destelbergen | €14.2m | — | €9.68m | 93.3 | 2025 |
| 20 | Proefcentrum Fruitteelt 3800 Sint-Truiden | €10.4m | €3.14m | €8.34m | 92.4 | 2025 |
| 21 | Eurofins Amatsigroup 9052 Ghent | €6.78m | €17.5m | €3.65m | 76.4 | 2025 |
| 22 | Confo Therapeutics 9052 Ghent | €37.8m | 176,727 € | €33.3m | 59.0 | 2025 |
| 23 | Biotalys 9051 Ghent | €16.3m | — | €9.87m | 58.2 | 2025 |
| 24 | Aphea.Bio 9052 Ghent | €16.2m | 14,118 € | €11.4m | 56.9 | 2025 |
| 25 | Inari Agriculture, NV 9052 Ghent | €12.1m | €12.1m | €10.2m | 56.5 | 2025 |
| 26 | Etherna Immunotherapies 2845 Niel | €12.8m | €8.79m | −€3.91m | 52.1 | 2025 |
| 27 | CD3 Labs 3001 Leuven | €1.79m | €10.00m | 21,267 € | 43.5 | 2025 |
| 28 | ProDigest 9052 Ghent | €7.83m | — | €5.16m | 39.8 | 2025 |
| 29 | Omega Pharma Innovation & Development 9050 Ghent | €246.6m | €16.3m | €240.2m | 38.2 | 2025 |
| 30 | Oystershell 9820 Merelbeke-Melle | €32.7m | €39.8m | €15.1m | 37.6 | 2025 |
| 31 | BAAC Vlaanderen 9968 Assenede | €2.34m | — | 905,507 € | 37.1 | 2025 |
| 32 | Orionis Biosciences 9052 Ghent | €6.88m | €11.6m | €4.92m | 36.3 | 2025 |
| 33 | BioLizard 9000 Ghent | €5.26m | — | €3.67m | 34.2 | 2025 |
| 34 | InnoSer België 3590 Diepenbeek | €2.12m | — | 630,048 € | 27.4 | 2025 |
| 35 | PSI CRO Belgium 3000 Leuven | €1.13m | — | 617,185 € | 26.7 | 2025 |
| 36 | icometrix 3012 Leuven | €5.74m | — | −€1.82m | 25.2 | 2025 |
| 37 | Proefbedrijf Pluimveehouderij 2440 Geel | €8.63m | — | €3.94m | 23.5 | 2025 |
| 38 | Microbial Resource Management Health 9052 Ghent | €11.7m | — | €6.93m | 22.8 | 2025 |
| 39 | Normec Micro-Smedt 2200 Herentals | €1.75m | — | €1.08m | 22.6 | 2025 |
| 40 | Biomedical Systems 3000 Leuven | €11.2m | — | €9.06m | 22.3 | 2025 |
| 41 | NewMilkLab 9052 Ghent | €2.32m | — | 497,664 € | 21.4 | 2025 |
| 42 | ClinChoice Belgium 1950 Kraainem | €2.59m | — | 177,888 € | 20.5 | 2025 |
| 43 | Swave 3001 Leuven | €29.9m | — | €20.8m | 19.9 | 2025 |
| 44 | Raap België 9810 Nazareth-De Pinte | 997,017 € | — | 535,887 € | 19.3 | 2025 |
| 45 | Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Medicine Belgium NV 9940 Evergem | €6.51m | 0 € | €5.56m | 17.9 | 2025 |
| 46 | K5 Therapeutics 3001 Leuven | €3.56m | — | €2.96m | 17.8 | 2025 |
| 47 | Emtex 9170 Sint-Gillis-Waas | €1.61m | — | 799,341 € | 17.5 | 2025 |
| 48 | Imaqua 9080 Lochristi | 628,500 € | — | 195,082 € | 17.5 | 2025 |
| 49 | Protealis 9052 Ghent | €11.1m | — | €9.06m | 17.2 | 2025 |
| 50 | AstriVax Therapeutics 3001 Leuven | €12.5m | — | €10.7m | 17.1 | 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 · Flanders →
Other sectors · Flanders
- 01 Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities1,948
- 02 Forestry and logging64
- 03 Fishing and aquaculture60
- 08 Other mining and quarrying41
- 10 Manufacture of food products2,131
- 11 Manufacture of beverages152
- 12 Manufacture of tobacco products15
- 13 Manufacture of textiles422
- 14 Manufacture of wearing apparel128
- 15 Manufacture of leather and related products of other materials22
- 16 Manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials497
- 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products149
- 18 Printing and reproduction of recorded media466
- 19 Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products11
- 20 Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products365
- 21 Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations72
- 22 Manufacture of rubber and plastic products373
- 23 Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products564
- 24 Manufacture of basic metals153
- 25 Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment2,057
- 26 Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products239
- 27 Manufacture of electrical equipment229
- 28 Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.652
- 29 Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers183
- 30 Manufacture of other transport equipment60
- 31 Manufacture of furniture513
- 32 Other manufacturing416
- 33 Repair, maintenance and installation of machinery and equipment708
- 35 Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply108
- 36 Water collection, treatment and supply15
- 37 Sewerage72
- 38 Waste collection, recovery and disposal activities378
- 39 Remediation activities and other waste management service activities40
- 41 Construction of residential and non-residential buildings3,492
- 42 Civil engineering943
- 43 Specialised construction activities10,806
- 46 Wholesale trade10,014
- 47 Retail trade11,712
- 49 Land transport and transport via pipelines3,116
- 50 Water transport118
- 51 Air transport33
- 52 Warehousing, storage and support activities for transportation1,021
- 53 Postal and courier activities175
- 55 Accommodation897
- 56 Food and beverage service activities8,666
- 58 Publishing activities231
- 59 Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities289
- 60 Programming, broadcasting, news agency and other content distribution activities25
- 61 Telecommunication84
- 62 Computer programming, consultancy and related activities3,117
- 63 Computing infrastructure, data processing, hosting and other information service activities218
- 64 Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding2,369
- 65 Insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security31
- 66 Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities1,957
- 68 Real estate activities2,916
- 69 Legal and accounting activities3,059
- 70 Activities of head offices and management consultancy2,566
- 71 Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis1,839
- 73 Activities of advertising, market research and public relations813
- 74 Other professional, scientific and technical activities313
- 75 Veterinary activities326
- 77 Rental and leasing activities509
- 78 Employment activities422
- 79 Travel agency, tour operator and other reservation service and related activities270
- 80 Investigation and security activities78
- 81 Services to buildings and landscape activities1,730
- 82 Office administrative, office support and other business support activities776
- 84 Public administration and defence; compulsory social security39
- 85 Education549
- 86 Human health activities3,162
- 87 Residential care activities515
- 88 Social work activities without accommodation762
- 90 Arts creation and performing arts activities306
- 91 Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities57
- 92 Gambling and betting activities56
- 93 Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities854
- 94 Activities of membership organisations282
- 95 Repair and maintenance of computers, personal and household goods, and motor vehicles and motorcycles984
- 96 Personal service activities1,624
Municipalities with the most companies in the sector · Flanders
Frequently asked questions
Which is the largest employer in Scientific research and development in Flanders?
Among companies, Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum, with 2,904.3 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. 176 out of 610 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.
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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 12 Nov 2026.