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Wallonia business news in brief

23:05 24/12/2017

Wavre-based pharma firm GSK has been given the green light by the American Food and Drug Administration to market its shingles vaccine after more than 30 years of research. GSK will now be able to distribute its vaccine throughout North America. Marketed as Shingrix, “the vaccine is demonstrated to be more than 90% effective against both localised skin symptoms and post-herpetic pain, which is the greatest cause of suffering and for which there is no treatment”, said Emmanuel Hanon, head of R&D at GSK Vaccines.

A new Chinese business incubator is to be based at Liège Airport. It has been created by the Wallonia Export-Investment Agency Awex, Liège Airport and Logistics in Wallonia to help Chinese companies set up in Wallonia. The incubator is the first of its kind in Europe and will provide customised support for Chinese businesses, including office space, assistance in finding warehouse space and local logistics partners, access to business networks and help with job creation and investment.

Six youngsters from Wallonia won prizes at the annual WorldSkills competition in Abu Dhabi in October. It was a record haul for the under-23s, who were competing against 1,300 young people from 57 countries. The six winners were awarded for their skills in fashion technology, electrical installation, joinery, restaurant service, cooking and automobile technology.

Local chocolatiers impressed with their creations at the International Chocolate awards in London in October. Brussels’ Laurent Gerbaud picked up a gold medal in the ‘Unflavoured dark chocolate ganache or truffles’ category, while Liège-based Mélanie Lemmens and Didier Smeets of the Carré Noir brand took silver in the same category.

Written by WAB (Wallonia and Brussels) magazine