However this absence is doubly detrimental

Genopole, Technology Park created in Evry (Essonne) around the genome sciences, celebrated in October 2008 his ten years with a discretion that contrasts with the large pumps of its official launch. Claude Allègre and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, then respectively Minister of research and Minister of economy and finance, had been moving. Genopole then was the prototype of the biotechnology Park French, combining on the same site of academic research, a structure of support to the creation of enterprises and a bioparc. Beyond fashion, how to explain that Genopole is not everything in fact succeed fully Two main reasons, one related to the history, the other in geography, combine

First of all, Genopole was established in Evry, because the French Association against myopathies (AFM) had established his headquarters at the end of the 1980s and created, in 1991, with the money of the Telethon, a first laboratory of mapping the human genome, the Généthon. In 1997, is still the AFM that persuaded the Government to establish the national Centre of sequencing, first large equipment dedicated to the genome, and the national Centre of genotyping. "But this proactive implementation was part of a scientific desert, because biology was not then taught at the University of Evry," recalls a pioneer of the time. It was far away from the traditional anglo-saxon schema, where the results obtained by the research of a University are the creation of enterprises. Today, the University of Evry-Val of Essonne, which borders the bioparc, has departments in bio-informatics, mathematics applied to biology, modeling and biomaterials. And, next to the ten laboratories governed exclusively by the organizations public research, 11 teams research some mixed (CNRS, Inserm, Inra) are attached to the University. A joint doctoral school with the University of Versailles there has also been mounted.

Step of industrial fabric

The bioparc was also to create ex nihilo. Today, there are 37 companies, but, except 3 of them, they employ fewer than 15 employees. A result still disappointing, the initial ambition being to generate an industrial fabric and not not only to allow successive waves of new start-up companies. For therapeutic molecules, a single company, Novagali, has a marketed product. It is true that develop a drug may take a decade, but this is also due to the fact that no large pharmaceutical or large biotechnology company is present on the site, with the exception of Sanofi-Aventis, via a Research Department. However, this absence is doubly detrimental. In addition to the products, it is also the training effect is missing.

Yet, since the creation of Genopole, mobilized amounts are negligible. On the only 2002-2008 period, it is more than EUR 25 million has been invested in "the home, incubation and development of the biotechnology companies and in the programmes of bioproduction", to which must be added a part of the 13 million devoted to the "survey, the attractiveness and promote national and international".

Genopole was also the first structure to provide biotechnology companies with a nursery and a companion, and then launch a pre-seed fund. The quality of this support is evidenced by various leaders of start-up companies. In addition, two biotech companies out of the site have also use, as well as the services of technology platforms. But other companies home structures have emerged in Paris (Cochin, Quinze-Vingts hospital...) or in the near suburbs (Romainville), from compete with "offer" of Genopole.

A service problem

That, in addition to history, geography also weighs. Evry is located at 27 km from Paris, but to browse through, it has the choice between a highway saturated at peak hours or line D of the RER, which a lot of progress to make in terms of reliability. Those who work at Genopole are eternal on the subject. "The RER is not far from home, however, I ended up taking my car failures and endless delays." "But I have to arrive before 8: 30 am and does not reset after 5: 30 pm if I do not want me be blocked", says one researcher. Another company, yet from the research of Evry, preferred closer to Paris. "At a time, we wondered where lived our employees, who are essentially of the bac 5 and where were our potential customers, says his boss." Answer: not in Evry. Then, even though the square metre is cheaper, we moved.