2026 European Pharmaceutical Capex Outlook – France, Belgium & the Netherlands
The European pharmaceutical capex outlook for 2026 is more restrained than twelve months ago, but there remains meaningful opportunity for suppliers of capital equipment and machinery. While the exceptional conditions of 2024 have eased, the market continues to generate a steady flow of investment, with regional nuances shaping where the best commercial prospects lie.
European Pharmaceutical Capex Trends – Belgium and the Netherlands
Belgium is enjoying a resurgence after a very difficult 2024. Tax incentives for innovation and R&D are restoring confidence in the country’s traditional pharma valley. Developers are responding by progressing new science parks aimed at life science tenants, particularly across Wallonia. Although the schemes are not on the scale seen in France during the last few years, they represent a welcome uptick in activity and create clear routes to market for equipment suppliers in the year ahead.
The Netherlands continues to face structural challenges, with electrical grid constraints and resourcing issues slowing progress on both greenfield and brownfield schemes. Many viable projects remain held up awaiting grid access. However, Eli Lilly’s significant €2.5m investment to manufacture its upcoming oral weight-loss drug is a positive signal, and the country’s strong start-up ecosystem continues to generate early-stage opportunities that may mature into scale-up production projects later in the decade.
Overall, suppliers should expect smaller, fast-moving upgrades and fit-out projects to dominate in both Belgium and the Netherlands, with a focus on sterile manufacturing, fill/finish and solid dose as regulatory approvals for emerging therapies evolve.
European Pharmaceutical Capex Trends – France
France remains Europe’s most active market of the regions we cover, though the pace has moderated from the exceptional conditions of 2024. Political instability, both domestically and in the US, has dampened appetite for high-risk scale-up projects. Many start-ups with innovative pipelines are therefore finding fundraising more difficult. The Choose France summit also yielded fewer major pharmaceutical announcements this year, with much of the attention shifting towards advanced manufacturing, datacentres, AI, and CSR-driven projects.
However, France continues to generate a significant volume of pharmaceutical and cosmetics capex. Established producers are investing steadily in sterile injectable capacity, with vaccines (particularly veterinary) and weight-loss drugs remaining key drivers of demand. Should Eli Lilly’s oral drug receive regulatory approval next year, investment is expected to swing further towards solid tablet manufacturing.
Fine chemical excipient production is a notable growth area as European manufacturers adapt to the changing landscape created by US tariffs. Cosmetic and perfumery capex also remains buoyant, particularly in Grasse and Val-de-Reuil, where major players are progressing both greenfield and upgrade work.
The market continues to favour the use of modular cleanrooms (MCs), with many smaller companies choosing to manage internal upgrade and fit-out work themselves. In France, the trend of cleanroom specialists leading projects continues to displace traditional engineering firms, while in Benelux the preference remains to appoint a single large engineering contractor.
Some areas have softened: sustainable packaging investment has been slower than anticipated, and the medical cannabis sector has stalled due to regulatory delays. Nevertheless, investment into “natural” ingredients, plant-based processing and sustainability of production remains robust.
Our Coverage – European Pharmaceutical Sector 2026
At Protel, we are currently monitoring hundreds of European capex projects across the pharmaceutical, biotech, life sciences, cosmetics and fine-chemical sectors in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. These schemes range from small, fast-moving upgrades through to large strategic programmes involving leading global producers.
Full project intel – including scope, timelines and key decision maker details – are available to Protel subscribers.
Conclusion
For suppliers of capital equipment and machinery, 2026 presents a more selective but still promising landscape.
- Belgium is rebounding strongly, aided by attractive tax incentives and new science-park development.
- The Netherlands remains constrained, but major investments – particularly around weight-loss drug production – offer meaningful long-term potential.
- France continues to lead, driven by sterile injectable demand, cosmetics growth, excipient production, strong regional clusters and government support.
With the right intelligence, suppliers can position themselves early, target the most active segments and secure commercial advantage in a year where precision and timing will be critical.
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