18 multidisciplinary professionals dedicated to responsible biotechnology. 20+ years of combined expertise across biosafety, biodiversity, and biotech regulatory.
A multidisciplinary team of scientists, legal experts, policy specialists, and business strategists, united by a passion for responsible biotechnology.
PhD in biology (University of Antwerp, 1987). Over 35 years in EU biotech regulatory affairs, including as Global Head of Biotechnology Regulatory Affairs at Bayer CropScience. Founder of Perseus BVBA (2003). Former President of the European BioSafety Association; lecturer at Ghent University and the University of Antwerp. Nominated expert on the Biosafety Clearing House of the Cartagena Protocol.
LLM in corporate and commercial law (University College London, 2000); Belgian Bar. Co-founder of ABSint (2017). Senior Legal Consultant to CropLife International since 2011, with responsibility for ABS, IP, and biosafety protocol matters. Designated expert in the European Commission's expert group on sector-specific guidance under EU ABS Regulation (EU) No 511/2014; industry representative on the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group under the Nagoya Protocol; co-author of the implementation guide to the Nagoya–Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol.
PhD in biological sciences (Ghent University, 2007). Founder of eCOAST (2010), a marine environmental research centre sold to Eurofins in 2018. Founder of ABSint, now 3BIO (2015). Author of 16 peer-reviewed publications on ABS, marine genetic resources, and biodiversity governance. Policy advisor to the European Commission (DG ENV and DG MARE) and to multiple states and regional groups in the UN BBNJ negotiations.
PhD in tissue engineering (KU Leuven, 2024, FWO doctoral fellowship); MSc in Biomedical Sciences (KU Leuven, summa cum laude); MSc in Health Care Management and Policy (Ghent University, magna cum laude). Six first-author peer-reviewed publications. At 3BIO, she leads biotech regulatory affairs engagements, conducting risk assessments and guiding clients through EU regulatory compliance frameworks.
In Memoriam
Greet Smets
Always remembered as part of the 3BIO family
From a chance encounter at an airport to a New Year's Day email that changed everything.
3BIO's story doesn't begin in a boardroom or through a strategic acquisition. It begins with a luggage carousel and an early morning email.
The spark for ABSint wasn't a formal business plan; it was a happenstance interaction. Thomas Vanagt and Dominic Muyldermans found themselves standing together at an airport, waiting for their bags. They hadn't met before, but with the help of an introduction from an old colleague and suitcases circling, a conversation sparked between two professionals working at the interface of scientific research and biodiversity governance.
By the time their luggage arrived, they realized they were both seeing the same gap: organizations were drowning in complex "Access and Benefit-Sharing" (ABS) obligations with no practical support. That chance meeting at the carousel turned into a partnership, and ABSint was founded to fill that void.
While Thomas and Dominic were building ABSint, Patrick Rüdelsheim was already a veteran in the field, having established PERSEUS in 2003. But the connection went deeper than the industry they shared.
Years prior, in a previous company, Patrick and Dominic had worked side-by-side on the same files. Though their paths diverged, with Patrick into the world of biosafety and biotech regulations and Dominic into the nuances of ABS, they remained "intellectual neighbors." They were solving the same puzzle from opposite ends: how to bridge the gap between cutting-edge science and the labyrinth of emerging governance.
For years, PERSEUS and ABSint operated in parallel, distinct and successful, yet increasingly aware that their worlds were colliding. Biotechnology was accelerating, and the "silos" between their work were starting to feel artificial.
The final catalyst for 3BIO wasn't a formal negotiation; it was a moment of quiet, early-morning inspiration. On January 1st, 2015, while the rest of the world was still quiet after New Year's Eve, Patrick sat down at his computer. Guided by a sudden clarity on how their combined legacies could become something greater, he drafted an email to the ABSint co-founders.
That "New Year's Day" email proposed a simple but radical idea: Stop working side-by-side and start working as one.
3BIO emerged from that email and those decades of mutual respect. It is a venture built on the human realization that biosafety, regulatory strategy, and benefit-sharing are not separate disciplines...they are parts of the same heartbeat.
Today, 3BIO combines their history, brought together by a chance encounter at an airport and a sunrise email on the first day of the year, to help organizations navigate the future of biotechnology with partners who have been there since the beginning.