Medicen Paris Region declares new strategic priorities at third Medicen Day

Paris, February 7, 2019 – Medicen Paris Region, Europe’s leading health cluster, presented its new strategic priorities during the annual Medicen Day, in front of an audience of 200 people, including members, partners of the cluster, representatives from the Greater Paris region, the French investment bank bpifrance, the EIT Health European network and others. Medicen has just been selected by the French government to be part of the next phase of French competitiveness cluster development, from 2019 to 2022. The cluster will focus on two areas of expertise: support for member companies for growth in Europe and at an international level, and the development of the precision medicine industry in France.

Medicen will continue to provide high-end support to its member companies in Europe and internationally, in order to increase their funding and accelerate their development. The cluster will continue to be strongly involved in European projects, for which several members successfully applied. In 2018, Medicen was successful in supporting its members in the call for proposals for phase 2 of the SME Instrument program, within which 2,500 companies have already been funded, out of 30,000 applicants. In France, out of more than 150 submitted projects, only eight were selected (four in healthcare), including the three companies supported by Medicen. They will receive funding of between €1.5M and €2.5M ($1.7M – $2.8M). The winners will be announced shortly.

Medicen will also strongly support its members in developing the field of precision medicine and its combined therapeutic solutions. Precision medicine is based on the analysis of molecular and genetic characteristics in order to offer early diagnosis, bespoke treatment and individualized and personalized follow-up for patients. It is a booming sector that builds on the advancement of knowledge in life sciences (e.g. molecular biology), the latest technological breakthroughs (NGS, microfluidics) and the rise of Artificial Intelligence and digital technologies (Big Data, Cloud, Blockchain). As an example, the Hu-PreciMed project, led by Medicen Paris Region and the private groups Oncodesign, Servier and Intersystems, involves more than 40 innovative digital and medical companies. This strategy of developing the precision medicine industry is one of the priorities of the Strategic Industrial Sector Contract signed on February 4 by the French government and representatives of the healthcare industry. Medicen Paris Region actively contributes to this strategy on behalf of the French health competitiveness clusters to enhance the public-private health ecosystem and promote the French start-ups and SMEs in the field of healthcare.

“We are delighted to have been selected for the next phase of the clusters’ development. During our annual meeting we presented our ambitious strategy to our members and partners as well as to representatives of the Greater Paris Region. We strive to be a driving force for excellence in precision medicine and for the development of combined therapeutic solutions,” said Stéphane Roques, general manager of the Medicen Paris Region cluster. “By 2022, we will strengthen our support to health entrepreneurs to enable the better and faster transformation of scientific and medical knowledge into economic value and jobs for the French sector.”

• Foster the emergence, development and funding of certified collaborative projects in the healthcare sector, in order to create economic value and jobs
• Increase the international development of innovative startups and SMEs
• Strengthen the attractiveness of the Greater Paris region, which represents more than 50% of life sciences activity in France