France is a key player in healthcare innovation. With Plan Innovation Santé 2030, France has committed major investments to promote research and develop new healthcare solutions. This plan aims to transform France into a European leader in healthcare innovation, and to put the patient at the heart of its policy.
On the occasion of our participation in the world's largest healthcare hackathon, the Hacking Health Camp, our teams offer a panorama of healthcare innovation facilities in France and an analysis of their contributions to improving healthcare.
BEYOND THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM, A FERTILE ECOSYSTEM FOR HEALTHCARE INNOVATION IN FRANCE
From the Institut Pasteur's first discoveries to the Carmat heart, the first self-regulating bioprosthetic artificial heart, France is a pioneer in public health for over a century and a half.
In order to foster innovation in healthcare, i.e. to design tomorrow's medicine while placing the patient at the heart of our actions, 260 million € committed over the last ten years and 340 million in investment released for biotech startups.
In today's fast-changing environment, innovation in healthcare must respond to three challenges primordial :
- Promoting rapid care for citizens ;
- Reorganize and rethink the care in health ;
- Reintroduce industrial policy in healthcare innovation within the territory.
The response to these three imperatives is supported by the Innovation Santé 2030 plan and its initiatives to boost France's attractiveness and create productive, long-term collaborations, from fundamental to translational research. In this respect, 7 billion € will be mobilized as part of this plan to make France the leading European nation in innovative and sovereign healthcare..
A WIDE RANGE OF SYSTEMS
A dynamic of innovation driven by a number of regions
In France, innovation is supported by a variety of innovative structures, each of which helps to respond to different territorial contexts and local challenges.
As a result, the healthcare innovation dynamic is driven by a number of regions that account for the vast majority of existing innovation centers. Generally speaking, these innovation centers are clustered around major university hospitals and historic industrial basins.
Overview of innovation facilities in the healthcare sector
6 health clusters
Launched in 2005, Competitive clusters are players in the innovation ecosystem, bringing together around a given technological and scientific fieldand companies, (from SMEs to large groups) from research organizations and training, We are committed to a partnership approach designed to generate synergies around innovative joint projects.
These divisions are responsible for labelling research projects candidates for support from public funding, communicate and set up cooperative ventures with other clusters and evaluate ongoing research projects.
The State and the regions wish to continue to certify and finance these systems and have launched a call for projects in 2022 to release an annual budget of €9 million from 2023 to 2026.
11 technology parks and 2 healthcare clusters
Historically affiliated with the world of research, specialized in a particular theme and related sub-themes (mobility, healthcare, etc.), these structures are dedicated to Research and Development of new solutions to meet public policy priorities (reducing urban pollution, promoting alternative means of transport, etc.), in partnership with local industries.
Their missions are to support open innovation initiatives, create synergies between several players in the same sector and lead an industry community.
14 university incubators
These business start-up assistance and support structures aim to provide their incubatees with a value-added strategic coaching financial support, advice, networking, etc. These structures offer open spaces and shared offices and offer a range of support services between 6 and 18 months.
13 project gas pedals
Gas pedals are structures offering a range of high value-added services to young companies undergoing organic growth. There are 13 of them in France, and their mission is to’support companies at a more advanced stage than in an incubator, by putting them in touch with business angels and investors, while developing innovative, structured projects.
These structures are mostly private and profit-making and offer support for varying lengths of time between less than six months and more than a year.
5 health innovation hubs
Innovation hubs are platforms open to all innovation players, offering a wide range of products and services. a multitude of programs, residencies and events. More often than not, they are embodied in a dedicated physical location. These structures can be public, private or mixed and propose support from 3 months to 3 years, with regard to the support program.
17 initiatives to promote local innovation in healthcare
French Tech initiatives, which promote the local innovation ecosystem in a given region, bring together communities with a high density of mature, hyper-growth start-ups. They facilitate innovation within industries and network start-ups and large companies.
7 campuses of excellence
Created in 2009, University Hospital Institutes (IHU) were based on a model combining care and research, with relative autonomy from University Hospitals (CHU) and public bodies. These are French centers of excellence with an international vocation in research, care and training, boost France's long-term competitiveness by promoting the development of the biomedical industry.
The IHU's mission is to promote the development of translational research that directly benefits patients, The new IHU will bring together all the strengths around a single theme on a single site. The 6 new IHUs are expected to be accredited this summer.
HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS: PLAYERS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT
Beyond these mixed (public-private) systems, the players in the care sector are now equipped to support these national ambitions. Private and public healthcare establishments are revitalizing their innovation policies and positioning themselves more on the cutting edge of innovation. translational research.
So.., they set up promotion and support infrastructures, These include Vivalto and its collaborative platform, Innovalto, Elsan and its living lab, Innolab, and Brest University Hospital and its W.INN innovation center, which aims to enable innovative companies to design and test their innovations on site.
DEVICES THAT SHARE SIMILARITIES
This overview reveals a number of lessons. These devices share many common features:
- Territorial roots induced by a high level of cooperationn driven by local players;
- Openness and sharing between players from all horizons: academics, clinicians, industrialists, entrepreneurs, ideologists, ... ;
- Home in a single location to federate, learn and evolve as a team; ;
- Tailor-made services adapted to support needs ;
- Specialization around an identified business area to bring people together ecosystem.
Above all, these schemes illustrate the fertility of our regions to develop initiatives and design tomorrow's innovations.
OUR PARTICIPATION IN THE HACKING HEALTH CAMP
A unifying event for innovation in healthcare
The world's biggest healthcare hackathon takes place every year in Strasbourg: Hacking Health Camp.
On the occasion of the 10ème edition This year, players in the digital and healthcare sectors will be challenging themselves to solve problems in 50 hours. The promise: to turn an idea into a working prototype in 50 hours, which could then lead to the creation of a start-up or a long-term solution.
In 9 years, this large-scale event has enabled the development of nearly 200 prototypes and drive the creation of 25 startups, thanks to the participation of over 4,000 health innovators.
Eurogroup Consulting will be present at this event from March 24 to 26 in Strasbourg, and will be supporting entrepreneurs with healthcare projects for two days.
