Four Medicen Paris Region members selected for the European SME Instrument program

Paris, March 14, 2018 – Medicen Paris Region, Europe’s leading health cluster, today announces that four SME members have been selected to receive funding from the SME Instrument program. This is an integrated part of Horizon 2020, the European Union’s research and innovation funding program for the period 2014-2020.

Out of the nine French SMEs that were selected for the new SME Instrument formula, only five were elected for funding, including the four Medicen health SMEs. The grants will be provided within the next six months. The program usually finances up to 70% of the project, an amount that varies between €1-3M ($1.2-3.7M) for a period of 12 to 24 months.

Horizon 2020 is provided with €8.6 billion ($10.6bn) for innovative SMEs, SMEs with strong research potential, start-ups and medium-sized enterprises. The SME Instrument program in particular supports SMEs with a high-potential innovation project within the priority themes of Horizon 2020 (industrial leadership and societal challenges) to enable them to rapidly produce and launch their market-ready innovations.

The funding program is divided into three phases:

• Phase 1: Proof of concept and feasibility with a lump sum grant of €50,000 ($61.7K) for a 6-month period
• Phase 2: R&D, demonstration of commercial applications with a grant of €1-3M ($1.2-3.7M) for a duration of 12 to 24 months
• Phase 3: Marketing to facilitate access to private financing. No funding but access to opportunities provided and facilitated by financial instrument coaches for SMEs (loans and venture capital)

The four selected projects are:

• LiveCODIM: New super-resolution microscope for living cell imaging; duration: 24 months, by BioAxial
• PhagoPROD: Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) diagnosis, supporting a move towards personalized phagotherapy against antimicrobial resistance; duration: 24 months, by Pherecydes Pharma
• Rosalind: Industrialization for the next generation of enzyme-based synthetic DNA; duration: 24 months, by DNA Script
• SMR: Treatment of stroke by RGTA® (ReGeneraTing Agents); duration: 36 months, by OTR3

“These excellent results show that our healthcare start-ups have talent, potential and are visible at a European level,” said Christian Lajoux, president of Medicen Paris Region. “Throughout the year, we support our members who wish to apply for this type of funding and organize preparation sessions to maximize their chances of success.”

More information on the SME Instrument program

About Medicen Paris Region

Medicen Paris Region is a competitiveness cluster for innovative health technologies, with national and international scope. With more than 300 companies, research centers, universities, hospitals and local authorities as members, it aims to position the Paris region as Europe’s leading healthcare cluster. It focuses on five strategic areas: biological diagnostics, diagnostic and interventional imaging, regenerative medicine and biomaterials, digital health and translational medicine. In close collaboration with local, regional and national healthcare innovation players, Medicen Paris Region aims to:

• 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 Paris region, which represents more than 50% of life sciences activity in France

Since the creation of the cluster in 2005, 62 innovative products have been launched in the imaging, medical devices and biological tools sectors. The cluster has certified 292 projects. They received funding from the French government (French Inter-Ministry Fund FUI, Structuring Projects fund), the public investment bank Bpifrance, the National Research Agency, the European Regional Development Fund, the Investments for the Future program and/or local authorities, and the Paris region. Total investment is close to €1.9 billion ($2.3bn) and €533 million ($635M) of public aid.

www.medicen.org