Consolidating a pole of excellence
Since 2015, Servier has maintained a presence at Paris-Saclay through collaborations and laboratories with academic players, such as the Synchrotron SOLEIL. But now the group is ramping up its presence by opening a centralized R&D center at Paris-Saclay, which will bring together its 1,500 employees and all its R&D facilities throughout France.
A personal and professional alliance
To operate a world-class incubator at its R&D center, Servier needed a partner with solid expertise and wide international reach. Enter BioLabs, a specialist in high-end coworking spaces and labs whose incubators Servier has sponsored for years in the United States. Moreover, after meeting through their professional networks, Philippe Guedon from BioLabs and Olivier Nosjean have been working intensively over the past months to design the new incubator.
A comprehensive support system
The result: “Spartners by Servier and BioLabs”. This collaborative incubator will offer full support to biotech startups: scientific equipment and laboratories, as well as connections with various external providers (lawyers, accountants, etc.), mentoring and more. Spanning 2,000 sqm over 4 levels, the incubator will have the capacity to host 110 people across a variety of spaces: shared and private labs, private offices, a coworking space and a cafeteria.
Why Paris-Saclay? Quite simply because it boasts a high concentration of technologies and expertise, as well as innovative key players with whom we are already working or may work with in the future.
Olivier Nosjean, Head of Open Innovation and Scientific Affairs at Servier
Synergies with Servier and Paris-Saclay
A key advantage for biotechs: Servier will provide the expertise of its employees, access to its animal lab and experimental platform, which will give startups the opportunity to develop in an industrial context. In addition, Servier can also provide startups with expert advice on the entire drug value chain: R&D, CSR and the patient experience. Furthermore, startups will benefit from cross-fertilization with the entire Paris-Saclay ecosystem to create a “continuum from universities to labs to technology transfer,” according to Philippe Guedon.
A presence on both sides of the Atlantic
To prepare for the launch, BioLabs and Servier invited 7 promising startups to discover the biotech industry through the Saclay-Boston Biotech Masterclass, a full schedule of programming in Boston: speeches, workshops, site visits, B2B meetings, etc. The goal was to enable these startups to enrich their business strategy and learn more about the United States, the world’s largest biotech market. Buoyed by the success of this program, several participating startups have already begun setting up shop or raising funds in North America.
A call for applications in 2023
Ahead of the incubator’s grand opening, Servier and BioLabs are launching a call for applications aimed at biotech startups that already have a proof of concept and the essentials for its technological development: solid financials, a strong project team and some initial success or awards. Learn more and apply here.
