Villejuif (France), December the 5th, 2022
The Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster is the laureate of the “France 2030” Biocluster plan
The French Minister of Higher Education and Research, Sylvie Retailleau have announced today, as part of a progress review of the ten-year French strategic plan against cancers, that the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster (PSCC), cluster dedicated to oncology, is the first winner of the Biocluster Call for Expressions of Interest (CEI). Launched as part of the "France 2030" plan presented by French President Emmanuel Macron, this CEI aims to create "world-class clusters of excellence bringing together companies, healthcare, research and disruptive innovation, [with] the ambition of transforming the French biomedical research landscape."
Cancer kills 1.3 million people in the European Union every year and is expected to increase by 25% by 2035. France holds recognized excellence in basic research and clinical care of patients but is struggling to transform these assets into therapeutic and diagnostic solutions developed in France to the benefit of patients.
Based on this observation, Gustave Roussy, Inserm, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Sanofi, and the University of Paris-Saclay decided to create the PSCC, missing link to transform French fundamental research excellence into industrial diagnostic and therapeutic solutions developed in France. As a real catalyst, the objective of the PSCC is to facilitate and accelerate industrial projects and the maturation of start-ups, boost the French economy and create jobs throughout the country, in a highly competitive global environment. A first circle of key partners quickly joined the PSCC: UNICANCER, the Institut Curie, the Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, and the Medicen competitiveness cluster, and more than 60 other partners, including the Servier Group and several dozen start-ups have expressed their interest.
The 80 to 100 million euros that will be granted by the French government over 10 years as part of "France 2030" program will act as a decisive lever to develop the PSCC. The French government contribution will be supplemented by other investments, both public and private, including a major contribution already announced by Sanofi. Those funds will allow the structuring of an offer targeted to innovation projects with a unique gateway and simplified access to a set of services and platforms: best expertise in the field of cancer, health data, biological samples, specialized technological platforms, and the best skills at each stage of development, up to support for conducting phase I/II clinical trials.
The heart of the cluster will be located in Villejuif, near Gustave Roussy, in a rapidly developing area (ZAC Campus Grand Parc) that will soon be accessible by metro (5 minutes from Paris with the extended line 14). Industrial projects, ranging from start-ups to R&D teams from large corporations, will be able to settle there to be as close as possible to the ecosystem and benefit from the PSCC's services, in a setting that encourages interaction and cross-fertilization of talents and expertise.
The PSCC will be in charge of animating this ecosystem, facilitating cooperations, and helping with financing. The first calls for projects will take place in 2023 for a launch of the orientation services and the first platforms by the end of next year.
Unique in Europe in its size and ambition, the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster's mission is to accelerate the development of innovations to make them available to patients more quickly.. Its international scope will position France among the world leaders in converting science into value in the field of oncology, for patients and society as a whole.
"We are honored to have been selected today by the French government as part of France 2030. The PSCC will bring together mature and emerging industrial companies with the multidisciplinary expertise of the academic ecosystem in order to develop tomorrow's treatments and diagnostic tests in France, which will improve significantly the lives of cancer patients." said Prof. Eric Vivier, President of the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster association.
"We are ready to materialize our support offer for developing innovative projects. The PSCC aims to accelerate the maturation of these projects by providing access to a range of services and expertise through a one-stop shop, enabling start-ups to grow and pharmaceutical companies to optimally develop their solutions in France." said Benjamin Garel, Managing Director of the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster association.
Eric Vivier
University Professor - Hospital Practitioner, graduated from the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort, Doctor in Immunology from Paris-Saclay University and trained at Harvard, Eric Vivier directed the Marseille-Luminy Immunology Center, a research center under the supervision of Inserm, CNRS and from Aix Marseille University, from 2008 to 2017. Combining research and entrepreneurship, he is one of the founders of the biopharmaceutical company Innate Pharma, of which he is now scientific director. He is also one of the founders of Marseille Immunopôle, an immunology cluster.
Benjamin Garel
A polytechnician engineer, Benjamin Garel worked for several years within the framework of competitiveness clusters, in the regions and at the General Directorate for State Modernization. He then worked as Director of Quality at the Grenoble University Hospital, Director of Operations at the AP-HP and he managed the Martinique University Hospital for 3 years.
