AEC Partners surveys drug R&D view of France

AEC Partners, a Paris, France-based health care consultancy which boasts as one of its senior partners Francois Sarkozy, brother of the  country's President Nicolas Sarkozy, has been commissioned by the  research-based drugmakers' group, the LEEM, to conduct a survey of the  perception by leading players of France's attractiveness as an R&D  center. The study is designed to more clearly identify "the motors and  brakes for the attractivity of our country for international  industrialists," the LEEM stated.

The timing of the report was determined by the intention to inform the  debate to be held later this year as the Stategic Council for Health  Industries (Csis) and help towards the formulation of concrete action  items. In particular, the poll is focused on one of the LEEM's  persistent themes - that the pharmaceutical sector should be considered  part of the engines for economic recovery, because of the contribution  that innovative medicines makes to France's exports (Marketletters  passim).

The top 20 global pharmaceutical firms and the five leading French  companies have agreed to participate in the AEC project, with interviews  being conducted with the most senior managers in the R&D, clinical  operations, production and distribution, global and/or European  commercial operations of each drugmaker. The identity of interviewees  will be protected with survey results due to be made public in  September.