Focus on 5 therapeutic areas

The search for medicines that treat unmet medical needs continues to form the main thrust of our research activities. This means that we focus primarily on those therapeutic areas for which no effective treatments are available yet.
Janssen Belgium has excellent expertise in the field of neuroscience, oncology and infectious diseases. Every day our staff is dedicated to the development of a new generation of small molecules in the domains of schizophrenia, depressions, pain management, Alzheimer's disease, hepatitis C, HIV, different types of cancers ... In addition, the new Janssen Global Public Health Group focuses its efforts on the research and development of medicines against infectious diseases and neglected tropical diseases.
Our main research fields
Neurosciences

Millions of people worldwide are affected by brain diseases, like schizophrenia, and age-related diseases, such as dementia. In this discipline, Janssen has a long-standing research tradition which is the basis of a series of successful medicines. Yet, medical needs continue to be very great, partially due to the quickly ageing population. The neuroscientific research goes back to the 1950s when the first discoveries of Dr. Paul Janssen and his team led to the development of one of the first medicines for treating schizophrenia.
With the continual emergence of new scientific developments, we are now able to unravel genetic information and to understand this information better and better. Small errors in the genetic information can cause diseases such as Alzheimer's. This increased knowledge allows a better understanding of what goes wrong and a more targeted search for a solution.
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Schizophrenia, epilepsy, pain, cognition, dementia …
Infectious diseases & vaccines

Infectious diseases are caused by the presence of one or more micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or an abnormal protein. Despite the progress made in the area of infectious diseases, these diseases affect and restrict the lives of many people worldwide every year. Based on the desire to help patients, the company is constantly looking for new solutions to save and improve the lives of patients.
In 2013, Janssen celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the establishment of its HIV franchise. Since 2003, this franchise has launched 3 medicines onto the market.
Janssen has made great progress along the way to its goals of becoming a leader in the fight against HIV and of making a difference for people who live with HIV. The franchise is now known as Infectious Diseases & Vaccines and has, in the meantime, expanded the scope of its activities beyond HIV and virology.
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HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, TBC, influenza …
Oncology

Oncology covers the field of knowledge and treatment of cancer. Cancer is one of the most feared diseases. Every year 3.2 million Europeans receive the shocking diagnosis of cancer. On a global scale, this figure rises to 14.1 million, with the bleak expectation of 22 million cases by 2032. Janssen hopes in the long-term to be able to transform certain types of cancer into preventable, chronic or curable diseases—diseases that are no longer fatal.
We want to achieve this by developing innovative diagnostic and treatment solutions that improve and prolong the lives of affected patients.
Besides medicines that are directed against the cancer, Janssen also offers a number of drugs that are aimed at the treatment of concomitant problems, such as anemia or severe pain in cancer patients. At this time, the company offers treatments for prostate cancer, multiple myeloma and rare forms of blood cancer.
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Breast, lung, prostate, blood, colorectal cancer …
Immunology

Janssen has a rich tradition in the field of the development of medicines targeting immunological diseases. The company has 3 successful medicines on the market and several promising substances in the pipeline. The company continues its search for the treatment of complex immunological diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis and psoriasis.
By using new techniques and working together with other research partners and institutes across the world, we are in the process of creating a new generation of treatments.
The research and development of these agents occurs mainly in the US.
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Psoriasis, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, rheumatoid arthritis and disorders of the airways for which there is urgent need for a treatment.
Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity are a growing medical challenge in the 21st century. Wrong eating patterns and an unhealthy lifestyle are contributory factors. Expenditure relating to cardiovascular diseases, for instance, costs the European economy 192 billion euros per year. Janssen focuses on this research field, too, in order to offer innovative solutions to people suffering from those diseases.
Recently, a medicine was approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the most commonly occurring form of this disease.
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Type 2 diabetes, cardiac disorders, thrombosis.