The number of people with cancer continues to rise, while healthcare systems are under pressure. At the same time, scientific breakthroughs are occurring at a rapid pace, and the Netherlands ranks among the world’s leading nations in research. The Netherlands has a strong ecosystem for cancer research and innovation, but the main challenge lies in translating discoveries into practical applications. Innovations do not always reach patients in time, or at all, partly because the development chain lacks coherence. The need for visible societal and clinical impact is growing.
Between scientific discovery and application lies a critical phase, the “valley of death”. In this phase, insights must be validated and further developed toward clinical application. It is precisely here that the greatest challenge arises. Expertise, funding, and development pathways do not always align. As a result, innovations get stuck in an intermediate phase. Promising insights are often still in early development or concept phases. They are too immature for large-scale development, yet too complex to progress without targeted support. At the same time, little funding is available for this phase. The available funding is often temporary, which limits continuity.
Several reports published in 2025 confirm the bottlenecks and developments outlined in this chapter. The key insights are summarized below.
According to the report “Route to Future Prosperity”, the Netherlands has a strong knowledge and innovation ecosystem, but the utilization of this innovative capacity lags. Scaling up and implementation represent a major bottleneck. Preconditions, such as financing, regulations, and lead times, hinder the timely further development and application of innovations. As a result, breakthroughs do not reach patients and the market quickly enough, and the existing potential remains underutilized.
Source: Report: The Route to Future Prosperity. Peter Wennink, December 12, 2025.
According to the Advisory Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation (AWTI), the Netherlands has a strong knowledge and innovation ecosystem, but the translation into practice falls short. This is linked to the lack of a clear long-term vision, insufficient coherence within the innovation chain, and unstable funding. In addition, collaboration between the parties involved is not always effectively organized. This hinders the further development of innovations. Many initiatives get stuck before they can be applied in practice.
Source: Report: Resilient and Future-Proof. AWTI, December 4, 2025.
The Dutch oncology ecosystem consists of a broad group of stakeholders collaborating on new diagnostics, treatments, and improved patient outcomes. These include universities, research institutes, university medical centers, and hospitals, as well as companies, investors, patient organizations, and public funders. Together, they form a strong and internationally competitive ecosystem. At the same time, the system is fragmented, and connections are often project-based. As a result, the development chain lacks structural coherence. This makes the early phase of translation into an application vulnerable.
Within this landscape, Oncode Institute plays a connecting and accelerating role. It serves as a link between basic research, development, and clinical application. In this way, it structurally connects researchers, clinicians, companies, and investors. By integrating science, commercialization, and collaboration from the outset, a continuous development pathway is created that systematically advances innovations. In this way, Oncode Institute strengthens the ecosystem and increases the likelihood that scientific breakthroughs will reach patients.
