HEALTH & BIOTECHNOLOGIES
The extended health ecosystem in the territory
sophia antipolis
50 Companies
Cutting-edge laboratories
3IA and health
The Biopark
49% pharmaceutical and medtech companies
40% cosmetics companies
The ecosystem
Sector companies
BIONEA LAB
BioneaLab helps companies and research institutes to realise research protocols on an exceptional 2,300 m² platform.
e-phy-science
E-Phy-Science is an electrophysiology platform which provides in vivo and in vitro tests for drug development.
Eurobiomed Hub
Competitiveness cluster dedicated to assisting and accelerating projects in the local medical sector.
genevrier-genbiotech
Developing biotechnological products for rheumatology, dermatology and aesthetics.
IQUALIT
iQualit provides IT services to companies active in the Life Sciences sector, in line with industry standards.
lundbeck elaiapharm
Elaiapharm provides pharmaceutical subcontracting activities (CDMO), including pharmaceutical development. The global Danish company has also announced the opening of a new production site at the technology park focusing on manufacturing drugs for neurological disorders.
median technologies
Median is pushing the boundaries of identification, analysis and data sharing in medical imaging, with an onus on cancer.
nuvisan
Nuvisan is a service company dedicated to developing products for the life science industry.
oticon medical
Oticon Medical offers bone anchored hearing systems and cochlear implant solutions, almost going as far as the “enhanced man”.
palm'data
Palm’Data works alongside companies to organise, protect and use their regulatory data.
sangamo
This group specialises in modified immune defence cells to develop innovative treatments.
sodexo
In the BioPark, SODEXO carries out traditional Facility Management tasks on-site, as well as specific services.
syneos health
This company provides pharmaceutical groups with clinical services and integrated solutions.
therapixel
Therapixel, the French IA darling of medical imaging, provides software which helps screen for breast cancer.
IPMC and Agrobiotech – A cutting-edge research setting
Sector partners
Innovation in life science and technologies is promoted on the French Riviera by public research organised into centres of excellence around the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology (IPMC), the Mediterranean Centre for Molecular Medicine (C3M), the Valrose Biology Institute (IBV), the Cancer and Aging Research Institute (IRCAN) and the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (Inria).
The sector, at the forefront of oncology, central nervous system diseases, nutrition and metabolism, dermatology and eye pathologies, has naturally opened up to e-health by taking advantage of the ICT expertise concentrated at Sophia Antipolis, and finds outlets in the “silver economy” on a Côte d’Azur that offers fertile ground for conducting clinical studies and experiments.
The IPMC (Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology)
Founded in 1989, the IPMC is a wide-ranging biology research centre which is part of the CNRS and Université Côte d’Azur. Thanks to its location in the exceptional Sophia Antipolis technology park, it benefits from the presence of France’s main research institutions in the field of biological sciences and for its 19 world-class research teams, from an advanced technological environment in terms of molecular and cellular biology, imaging, cytometry, analysis of biomolecules, electrophysiology, functional genomics and integrative biology.
The IPMC researchers work on new drug targets associated with human diseases. By studying the primary functions of living beings, they participate in the programmes of tomorrow:
– LabEx ICST: Analysing ion channels of therapeutic benefit
– LabEx SignaLife : Cell signalling pathway innovations
– LabEx DistAlz : Development of new innovative strategies for treating Alzheimer’s disease
– France Génomique : National infrastructure for high-volume sequencing and bioinformatics
– IDEX UCAJEDI : Université Côte d’Azur
– FHU OncoAge & InovPain : Hospital and University Federations
19 world-class research teams
220 researchers, engineers, technicians and students
20 million euros annual budget
1 gold medal, 4 silver medals and 8 bronze medals
100 publications in scientific journals
The agro biotech institute/inrae
The Sophia Agrobiotech International Research Institute brings together substantial proficiency in comparative, evolutionary and functional genomics, in community ecology and agronomy. The Sophia Agrobiotech Institute strives to address some of the challenges agricultural research faces in the field of ecological management of agro-ecosystems by integrating this knowledge into the development of innovative agronomic strategies (plant resistance, integrated protection, biological control), which are more environmentally friendly and healthier for humans.
The two major fundamental biology research centres in Sophia Antipolis (IPMC and INRAE/Agro Biotech) joined forces to prepare the SABLES Platform project (Sophia Antipolis Biotechnologies for Environment and Health). The aim being to establish the PACA-East territory as a major European site for health-related biotechnologies and eco-innovation, by consolidating the lines of scientific enquiry, competitiveness and the appeal of the territory.
Areas of application
CASA, through the Development Department of the Sophia Antipolis technology park, provides the IPMC and the INRAE with co-financing of these partnership scientific platforms (photonic, electronic and atomic force microscopy, as well as flow cytometry, flow and in situ imaging. Analysis of embryonic, tissue and cell samples and marine specimens), and strives to ensure that the technical resources and platforms which result from this project are accessed by research teams and young incubating companies, those under creation and local start-ups.
The fields of application of these platforms are the identification of new human pharmacological targets, new diagnostic and/or prognostic markers, and also the identification of new genes, molecules, organisms and methods promoting ecological and eco-responsible agriculture.
The production of a large quantity of data will enable the development of predictive models, in collaboration with the Sophia Antipolis technology park’s computer science and mathematics research teams (Inria, I3S, 3IA, …).
Health and 3IA
As part of the French national programme for artificial intelligence (AI), the state is supporting the constitution of a network made up of a small number of Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence Institutes (3IA) with which the entire French AI ecosystem will interact.
The 3IA Côte d’Azur project (Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence Institute), was approved on 24 April 2019 by the French Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation. The Alpes-Maritimes therefore became part of France’s small artificial intelligence network, alongside three other 3IA institutes in Paris, Grenoble and Toulouse.
The project will focus on different lines of research around fundamental artificial intelligence, digital medicine and biology, bio-inspired AI and intelligent and secure territories.
50-million-euro budget
20% of researchers most commonly cited worldwide
4 strategic priorities
20 existing Chairs
+ 60 partner companies
Two strategic priorities
AI for Integrative Computational Medicine
Computational Biology and Bio-Inspired AI
Digital health and data management
Nicholas Ayache, scientific director of the 3IA Côte d’Azur institute leads a project team dedicated to e-patients and e-medicine. Health is one of the fundamental thrusts of research of the 3IA institute, along with digital medicine and AI for digital biology. These priorities are therefore related to digital health and also imply the management of health data. The digital twin, with its digital display of patient anatomy and physiology, becomes the central focus of the theme.
Initiatives
Focus on the specific projects
7 companies
300 Occupants
1 company restaurant
1 gym
Concierge service
Sophia Antipolis Biopark
Created on 1 October 2018 at the heart of Sophia-Antipolis technology park, on the historic site of the Galderma laboratories, the BIOPARK celebrated one year of activity at the end of 2019 at an inauguration organised by all of the companies active on-site.
Boasting 17,000 m2 of premises, including offices and world-class laboratories, featuring very high standard material and equipment, the site is also home to a number of co-working spaces offering flexible use for different types of company.
300 people are currently employed at the BIOPARK work incubator, which is poised for growth and strategic diversification for the Sophia Antipolis technology park.
Life sciences are the common denominator for companies on-site which work together each day to turn the industry into the backbone of economic development for the BIOPARK and more broadly speaking, for the Sophia Antipolis international technology park.
Companies of varying sizes all share a common goal: to deliver new solutions for the development of pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.
The biotech incubator project
Following the creation of the BioPark in Sophia Antipolis, the new challenge for the territory is to structure and strengthen the biotechnology innovation system to be able to identify, assist and set up young companies and start-ups active in the health and biotechnology sectors, with suitable infrastructure and high-performance services.
The biotech incubator project focuses on three issues:
- Supplying suitable premises
- Centralising technological platforms
- Dedicated and high-performance services
The project will also encourage the emergence of entrepreneurial projects from laboratories (spin-off) while consolidating the health/digital association and the primacy of Artificial Intelligence.
Focus
EUROBIOMED Hub
This competitiveness cluster, created following the merger of Eurobiomed and Cancer-Bio-Santé, is dedicated to innovation in the medical sector, in an area stretching from Toulouse to Nice. It provides support, acceleration and engineering for European projects, assistance with regulatory issues, internationalisation for companies and start-ups working in the health, biotechnology and medical device industries.
Eurobiomed helps transform innovations into health products and services and accelerates the development of companies in the hub and the area it covers. By 2022, the Centre hopes to become the European leader for SME growth in the health and innovation development sector (the leading SME HealthTech cluster in Europe).
The positioning of the Hub spans the entire value chain:
Prevention, prediction
Environmental and behavioural markers; individual and collective risk factors; genetic and biological markers and imaging; prevention (nutrition, physical activity, etc.)
Diagnosis
Genetic, biological, imaging, digital Rapid Diagnostic Orientation Test
Personalised treatments
Advanced therapies, medical devices, companion tests, digital health (connected objects, applications, etc.).
