Team Côte d’Azur presents the development opportunities on the Côte d’Azur to American biotech
On 10th and 11th October 2011, Team Côte d’Azur hosted its 3rd biotechnologies workshop in San Diego with its partners
On 10th and 11th October 2011, Team Côte d’Azur hosted its 3rd biotechnologies workshop in San Diego, in partnership with Provence Promotion, Eurobiomed, French Bio Beach, the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and the Sanford-Burnham Institute of San Diego.
Over one hundred delegates attended a presentation on the regional expertise in the discovery of new molecules by ambassadors mobilised by Team Côte d’Azur and its partners:
- Pierre Escoubas, from the company VENOMETECH, specialising in the use of venom compounds for the development of new therapeutic molecules
- Jean-Chrétien Noreel of PHARMAXON, a biotechnology company specialising in neurology, which has developed an innovative therapeutic approach based on the manipulation of cellular mobility.
- Bernard Schoot of GALDERMA, one of the world's leading dermatology companies
- Vincent Bonniol, from the company PRENYL BIO, where research into the premature ageing of cells has been used to create an anti-ageing treatment.
This partnership initiative can not only help to find projects for American companies to relocate to the PACA region but also allow local companies to identify partners and customers for their international development, in connection with Eurobiomed.
The opportunity to create a link between the Biotech ecosystems in San Diego and the Cote d’Azur
Pierre Escoubas, Founder and CEO of VenomeTech (Sophia Antipolis): "VenomeTech's involvement in the San Diego initiative was particularly beneficial in terms of the company's international development. The high concentration of biotechnology companies and key players from the San Diego pharmaceutical industry represented huge partnership potential for VenomeTech. The event therefore created excellent visibility for the company and allowed it to present its contractual R&D offer to a wide audience. Many contacts were made with local industrial and academic organisations and we envisage setting up collaborative projects with several partners following this event. Furthermore, this trip was a unique opportunity to present the European VENOMICS (FP7 2011-2015) project, managed by VenomeTech to the San Diego scientific community. There was great interest in this large-scale project which aims to develop new therapeutic molecules from animal venoms. "
The San Diego biotech community welcomed this commitment to improve links between the two regions. For Magda Marquet, Founder and Co-Chair of Althea Technologies in San Diego and member of the BIOCOM cluster: "the company presentations were very different at different levels. Their approach was highly innovative in their research and capital raising strategy. I fervently believe that in difficult times such as our economies are currently experiencing, we must find creative ways of cooperating between our two technology clusters (San Diego and the PACA region) to find the best approach in the development of new therapeutic products."
The objective is to continue to strengthen exchanges in the coming years, as explained by Stéphane Richard, from the French Bio Beach Association: "We have worked with Team Côte d’Azur, Provence Promotion and Eurobiomed for three years to facilitate scientific discussions between the biotech communities in the south of France and the San Diego region. Our events aim to build strong relationships to develop innovations in the prevention, detection and treatment of human diseases. We hope that our actions will result in ever more productive partnerships."
