With 25% of its turnover (excluding generic products) re-invested in R&D every year, the Servier Group has always given pride of place to research.
The decision to establish its future Research Centre at the Paris Saclay campus, near the Ecole Normale Paris Saclay (formerly ENS Cachan), the Ecole Polytechnique and the Pôle Biologie-Chimie-Pharmacie de l’Université de Paris-Sud, is confirmation of this policy.
As a result, activities at the Group’s existing research centres at Croissy, Suresnes and in the Orléans region will be brought together at a single site. Eventually, around 600 Servier researchers will be employed at the site, which has the capacity to accommodate up to around 800 people.
Olivier Laureau, President of the Servier Group, has underlined the Group’s commitment to research: “Our future Research Centre is fully in line with the strategic ambition of the Group, namely to be a key player in innovative healthcare. We are choosing Saclay because we believe in the potential of France to ensure the success of this ecosystem on an international scale.”
A real multidisciplinary platform, the aim of the building will be to embody the values of the Group, in particular team spirit, collaboration and openness, in an environment that encourages the expression of ideas and talents. This investment of almost 260 million euros will also make it possible for researchers to interact with many other stakeholders in healthcare in order to ensure that the patient is always at the heart of research programmes.
This flagship project for Servier is also in tune with the urban campus landscaped by the Paris-Saclay Development Authority (Etablissement Public d’Aménagement Paris-Saclay).
Claude Bertrand, Managing Director, R&D, added: “By envisaging Research 4.0, today the Group is looking ahead in order to anticipate the challenges faced by generations to consider healthcare from a global perspective, with the patient at its heart.”
Designed in close collaboration with the Wilmotte et Associés architect’s office, the style of the building will also comprise a unifying circle, an entrance door for everyone which will allow employees to mingle throughout the day in order to exchange ideas in a constructive and open spirit. There will also be laboratories, project rooms and a ‘project hotel’ to accommodate start-ups and innovative projects, both French and international. The building is designed to be as flexible and adaptable as possible in order to ensure that it is able to keep pace with future technological and scientific developments, all against a strong ecological background.
Emmanuel Canet, Executive Vice-President in charge of R&D, concluded: “Servier has always decided in favour of developing a high-performance research facility. The planned establishment at Saclay is going to stimulate this research even further, enabling us to evolve within one of the world’s leading centres, with skills and expertise drawn from around the globe.”
This Project forms part of the Opération d’intérêt national (operation of national interest).
