Life science Industry in France has been expanding up to the point that it is the second largest in Europe, only behind Germany. The Industry employs 99,000 workers and the total spending in health accounts for 11.2% of the Gross Domestic Product, above the Netherlands (9.9%) and the UK (9.8%). In 2021, Emmanuel Macron, aiming to return France to its position as world leader of innovation in healthcare in Europe, announced the Health Innovation Plan under France 2030 with a budget of  €7.5 billion. The investment plan is to develop French promising start-ups in the health care sector, industrialization, national projects and IPCEI (Important Project of common European Interest). Most of the initiatives, institutions and start-ups are located in Paris. Medical universities like Paris Sciences et Lettres and Sorbonne University, constantly ranked among the top 15 European universities by The Times University, attract funding and talent that is key to become Paris as the European life science hub.   

Beyond Paris, Lyon has known how to position itself as a stronghold of the Pharma Biotech sector, at the forefront of one of Europe’s largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets. But, initiatives and agencies such as Eurasanté in Lille look to develop projects and startups all over France. The most promising sectors of the life science industry are biotechnology and drug discovery.

The biotech and pharmaceutical industries in France are robust; some, like Sanofi or Servier, have long held industry leadership positions. However, a lot of other companies have bright futures in many fields.

Enzymatic DNA synthesis, a novel technique being developed by DNA Script, has the potential to drastically cut the amount of time needed to create customized DNA sequences in the lab. While it is simple and quick to read DNA, writing DNA has not made as much progress. Faster DNA synthesis can lower costs and open up new possibilities, including the use of DNA as a data storage medium and synthetic biology. Founded in 2014, the company raised nearly €200 million in a Series C fundraising earlier 2022. 

The first French biotech company to list on the Nasdaq in 2014 was DBV Technologies. Its market value is currently close to €300 million. The business is working on a skin patch that will expose youngsters with life-threatening food allergies to doses of the ingredient that causes their allergy.

CAR T-cell therapy, a type of cancer cell therapy that has demonstrated outstanding remission rates in patients with severe forms of blood cancer for whom conventional therapies have failed, is being developed by Cellectis. Six over-the-counter medications are being tested in clinical studies by Cellectis, three of which have been licensed to Servier and Allogene Therapeutics. Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of hematological malignancies that express the biomarker CD19 are being conducted with the company’s main candidate. Among other renowned institutions, Cellectis collaborates closely with Weill Cornell Medicine, the University of Chicago, and Moffit Cancer Center.

Abivax is a biotech company in phase 3 clinical development that uses immune boosting and antiviral platforms to modify the body’s immune system in order to treat cancer, viral infections, and chronic inflammatory illnesses.

In order to potentially cure neurodegenerative illnesses, the biopharma startup Pharnext is combining already available medications. The business determines which medicine combinations are most effective for treating an illness after analyzing genomic data to pinpoint the probable disease-causing chemicals. In late 2018, Pharnext’s primary candidate combination for the treatment of the uncommon neurological disorder Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease successfully finished a phase 3 trial. However, the U.S. FDA and EMA asked for an additional phase 3 trial, which is presently being conducted, because of an unexpected formulation issue.

The French biotech industry is ripe with potential and welcoming of all forms of innovation. Collaboration between individuals and institutions has always been essential to human progress, and the life sciences industry is no different.