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France's Alsace region unites life science and
healthcare aid agencies under single banner, "Alsace Biovalley(TM)"
Move offers simpler, more effective operation to attract international business
and research labs and generally boost industry and science success in the region
Strasbourg, January 30, 2008 - Alsace Biovalley(TM) is the new name adopted
by the main aid agencies supporting life science and healthcare research and
industry in France's Alsace region, home to some of France most dynamic
companies and laboratories. The aim is to simplify how the agencies go about
their work and make it more effective for those standing to benefit from
support, including international firms and research labs.
The bodies that have come together under the Alsace Biovalley name will work
together to create a favorable environment to encourage growth and make Alsace a
more attractive and competitive region for industry and science. The sectors
targeted by Alsace Biovalley include medical research, healthcare,
biotechnology, telemedicine, pharmaceutical manufacturing, surgical robotics and
drugs.
The creation of a single governing board for the sector is in line with the
region's policy of keeping things simple and effective. Several agencies have
worked together with success over the last few years and in particular two
support bodies, the Alsace Biovalley Association and the Pole for Therapeutic
Innovations, have demonstrated the benefits of this approach and have now
merged. The resulting entity, l'Association pour le développement de la filière
sciences de la vie & santé en Alsace (The Association for the development of the
life science and healthcare sectors in Alsace), is responsible for the
coordination of the Alsace Biovalley cluster and brings together a number of
other regional aid agencies and groupings.
President of the new association is Pascal Neuville, CSO of Faust
Pharmaceuticals and previously president of the Pole for Therapeutic
Innovations. Nicolas Carboni becomes General Manager of the association. Carboni
was General Manager of the Alsace Biovalley Association, the French arm of the
tri-national Biovalley cluster which includes adjacent areas of Switzerland and
Germany, now merged with the Pole for Therapeutic Innovations.
"We were determined to break free of a mold based on administrative structures
and move into a more market-oriented mode of operation," said Neuville. "We
believe this bringing together of complementary support organizations is a
French first in the life science sector. We will now be able to coordinate the
different agencies in a much more effective way."
"The new approach will make the Alsace bio-region much more attractive for
international companies and researchers," said Carboni. "We are at the heart of
Europe and our membership of the cross-frontier Biovalley partnership with Swiss
and German regions is a huge advantage and make us one of the biggest
bio-clusters in Europe."
About the Alsace Biovalley(TM) cluster
The Alsace Biovalley cluster brings together and encourages the development
and growth of public and private entities based in Alsace, France, and involved
in life sciences and healthcare. The Alsace Biovalley cluster includes the main
aid agencies which offer simplified and effective access to all the regional
services and aid.
Among Alsace Biovalley's missions are:
- Help industry in Alsace obtain finance and the
services of a body designated by the French government as world-class
competitive pole of development
- Make the Alsace region even more attractive by
accelerating the connections between industry, research and regional and
national aid bodies
- Offer different products and services to the
companies and laboratories in the area, including help with projects, search
for partners, company incubators, enterprise creation, international
expansion, economic intelligence, communication tools and scientific and
market information
- Ensure that the region has a world-class
infrastructure in place including specialized buildings, scientific service
platforms, logistics, and shared services
- Offer an entry point to Biovalley, the single
tri-national network of excellence made up of Alsace (France), the Basel
region (Switzerland) and Fribourg (Germany).
Situated as it is in the heart of Europe, and hosting
200 companies, 60 laboratories and 15,000 employees, Alsace Biovalley believes
it is a real catalyst and one of the largest European clusters for life science
and healthcare.
For further information, please contact:
Andrew Lloyd & Associates
Andrew Lloyd / Neil Hunter
Tel: +44 1273 675100
allo@ala.com /
neil@ala.com | |
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