2025:
From Fundamental Insight to Societal Impact

The Netherlands ranks among the world leaders in cancer research. In 2025, it was once again evident how Oncode Institute contributes to this.

Within Oncode Institute, fundamental breakthroughs emerge that we further translate into concrete applications together with researchers, clinicians and partners. In 2025, Oncode Institute advanced fundamental research toward clinical application and societal impact.

Our results underscore this. Building on strong fundamental research, we are moving ever more decisively toward application. Innovations are finding their way into companies and securing follow-on funding, accelerating the transition to practice.  Economically, this approach also led to new investments, spin-offs, and collaborations with public and private partners. For example, investments through the Oncology Bridge Fund triggered a significant increase in private investments, while new spin-offs build on this knowledge and contribute to a robust Dutch life sciences ecosystem.

What we do is clear: we accelerate the path from scientific insight to tangible impact for patients and society. By structurally connecting researchers, clinicians, companies, and patients, we ensure that knowledge does not remain limited in publications but is developed into applications that matter. Examples include the development of new therapeutic concepts, such as TEIPP, and targeted public-private partnerships, such as those with MRM Health and the Netherlands Cancer Institute. This brings new treatment strategies to the clinic faster.

Confidence in this approach is growing. In 2025, new and strengthened partnerships and investments reflected this, including with KiKa and through the Alpe d’HuZes/KWF Fund. The launch of Oncology Bridge Fund II, in collaboration with Ligase BioPartners, confirms that our model works and has the potential to grow even further.

Nevertheless, the societal urgency remains high. Pressure on the healthcare system is increasing, and the need for effective and affordable care is growing. The Wennink Report, an independent advisory report on the Netherlands’ future earning capacity, rightly calls for greater attention to capitalizing on our knowledge base. The report also rightly identifies biotechnology and life sciences as promising sectors. However, to enable the transition to a sustainable healthcare system, the Netherlands will also need to invest in the commercialization of new discoveries for which no financial commercial revenue model exists, but which do relieve the burden on the healthcare system. This requires not only additional resources but also a broader approach to innovation. Furthermore, the government has a coordinating role to play in partnering with the scientific community to invest in the societal commercialization of research.

That is where the societal need lies. We believe that translating publicly funded research into concrete applications is not a choice, but a responsibility. This requires continuity, scale, and the willingness of public and private parties to collaborate over the long term, while maintaining control over the further development of new discoveries into clinical practice.

In 2025, Oncode Institute demonstrated that this is possible. We are determined to strengthen this role in the coming years. Together with our researchers and partners, we are building an ecosystem in which knowledge drives better patient outcomes and contributes to a sustainable, innovative healthcare system.