A vital element of the pharmaceutical industry, whose No. 1 European market is France
Global revenues of medical and pharmaceutical research are increasing at a pace of 20%, reaching a market size of US$15.4 billion in 2006. Companies look to France as the centre of excellence for medical and pharmaceutical research, since the performance of clinical trials in specialist hospitals is a key stage in the treatment process.
Swiss pharmaceutical laboratory Novartis, for example, employs nearly 2,700 people in France, of which over 200 are dedicated to international clinical trial programs. Expertise in this field is derived from several decades of collaboration with hospitals and the various partners involved with the French health sector.
Alongside prestigious French contract research organizations are the leading global clinical trial companies, Covance, Parexel, MDS Pharma, and the U.S. company Quintiles, the number one in the industry, which employs 600 people in France in two locations, Paris and Strasbourg.
The quality of the clinical trials are what attracted biotechnology company Myosix, a subsidiary of U.S. company Genzyme, which has developed a particularly innovative technique for the growth of adult muscle stem cells.
The creation in Lyon of CENGEPS, the national centre for managing clinical trials, will play a key role in facilitating the administrative organization of clinical trials in industry. The government supports eight competitiveness clusters dedicated to life sciences which bring the various players together to work in a climate of innovation. In addition, the pharmaceutical industry benefits from the best R&D tax credit system in Europe, which reimburses 50% of R&D costs in the first year.
Clinical trials, a high value-added sector that is crucial for the pharmaceutical industry, require cooperation between industry, research laboratories, hospital practitioners and service providers. The efficient environment and high-quality technical facilities created by France are assets for pharmaceutical companies that expect successful results.
“The French pharmaceutical market is the biggest in Europe and the third-largest in the world. Its attractiveness is linked to the quality of France’s healthcare system, recognized as one of the best in the world by the World Health Organization and the French hospital system, which is number one in Europe,” according to Philippe Favre, President of Invest in France Agency.
