French biotech industry marches on into 21st century, boasts Invest in France Agency

The International BIO 2010 convention, held recently in Chicago, USA, was a chance to promote French expertise and strengths in the biotechnology sector, says the government agency Invest in France. The importance of the industry cannot be underestimated: almost half of all new drugs on the world market have their origins in biotechnologies, it claims.

First of all, France has a remarkably diversified industrial base, With almost 400 biotechnology businesses in France, employing around 6,000 people, over half of whom work in R&D activities. The French industry is ranked third in Europe after the UK and Germany. French biotech companies (such as Bio-Alliance, Nicox, ExonHit and Hybrigenics) are at the cutting edge of research in the field, with over 160 potential new drugs in the pipeline. In the health sector, which is the leading area for the application of biotechnologies, all the major international laboratories are already operating in France, the Agency says.

Secondly, France offers a favorable environment for partnerships. Eight innovation clusters with a biotech/health focus have been helping the sector to grow in France since 2005, more particularly through promoting interaction between manufacturers and public-sector laboratories. The eight clusters of excellence are Lyonbiopole (in the Rhone-Alpes region), Medicen (Ile-de-France), Alsace BioValley (Alsace), Nutrition Health Longevity (Nord-Pas-de-Calais), Atlantic Biotherapies (Pays de la Loire), Prod'Innov (Aquitaine), Eurobiomed (Languedoc-Roussillon/Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur) and, finally, Cancer-Bio-Sante (Midi-Pyrenees). These clusters are open business ecosystems, which already count about 60 non-French businesses among their members.