Émilie Royère is the general director of Eurobiomed, the competitiveness cluster which has supported the MIB project since its beginnings.
What is Eurobiomed and what is its role in the MIB biocluster?
Eurobiomed is a competitiveness cluster, a structure which brings together industrialists and public actors specializing in health, in the territory of the South Region and in Occitanie. Our mission is to support companies that innovate with health products. The idea is to lead a vast network that favors exchanges and partnerships. We also work on the emergence of innovative projects, support and the search for funding. Third mission: help young companies develop.
Et enfin le dernier rôle, celui qui nous occupe aujourd’hui, est de monter de grands projets structurants pour le territoire. Notre connaissance de la filière nous permet d’identifier des secteurs d’activité dans lesquels nous avons suffisamment d’acteurs pour encourager les regroupements, de projets R & D communs, etc. Ça a été le cas pour l’immunologie, actuellement nous travaillons sur la dermatologie.
For the MIB, we have been there from the start, we have been working on structuring the immunology sector here for 12 years. Which means that this biocluster is not an opportunity, but rather the demonstration that the entire sector was already installed. It is the realization of a territorial power. We are now in the governance of the project. Our positioning will be to support companies, by creating platforms, and attracting foreign companies.
Il y a 80 companies Who work déjà ici In the sector of immunology
Today, how many companies are already part of the MIB, and ultimately, how many would you like to join the adventure?
The companies that are involved in the project are the founders, it’s a small number. But at Eurobiomed, there are 80 companies already working in the immunology sector, located in the Metropolitan area.
Since 2018, around 1 billion euros have been raised in this sector. They are mainly small companies, but some already have 100 to 200 employees. The challenge is to also attract solid companies. Finally, it should be remembered that among the founding members, there are Sanofi and Servier who will bring the know-how of the large groups.
What are the objectives?
We have not quantified them in number of companies – even if we hope to double the number of those already present in the Metropolis – but in number of products for patients. The aim is to be attractive to large groups, and this will be possible with the clinical research carried out here.
What place will the MIB take in the cluster landscape in Europe?
There are other clusters in Europe dedicated to immunology. But immuno, taken as a technology and applied to various fields, for cancers, infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases, is unique. It is through this transversality that we will succeed in being different.