Attali Report's plans to boost French R&D

The newly-published Attali Report into the Liberation of French Economic Growth, presided by former Socialist Party guru Jacques Attali, has provoked a mixed response. This is hardly surprising given the number of proposals, 316, and the fact that the former president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development agreed to head an initiative which was commissioned by the right-wing President, Nicolas Sarkozy (Union for a Popular Majority - UMP). A positive view was taken by Christian Lajoux, president of the French pharmaceutical industry association (LEEM).

Mr Lajoux described the Attali Report as "being right to remind us that the health care economy is a lever for growth in France. It is becoming urgent for our society to take heed of the importance of the life sciences for its future." The LEEM's president added that "France has assets in this domain but has not sufficiently taken the measures to attract the investment and know-how that will make a difference." He urged the country's decision makers to hear the message from Mr Attali's report.

One of the propositions which finds favor with the French drug industry is the call for a performing and competitive R&D effort with public investment in biotechnology and clinical trials. Mr Lajoux quoted the study's data which suggests that half a percentage point of structural economic growth could be added to the French economy each year by the positive knock-on effects of such investments. In fact, Mr Lajoux noted that Mr Attali's proposals in this domain closely match the 2007 Manifesto put forward by the LEEM before last year's presidential elections (Marketletter March 26, 2007).