B iotech and l i fe sciences
Connecting communities
Dr Benoit Dubuis
Geneva has all the ingredients needed to make a biocluster efficient, says Dr Benoit Dubuis, director of the Foundation Campus Biotech and president of the BioAlps association.
T he Lake Geneva region is the according to Science magazine. The biotech and medtech sectors in BioAlps are experiencing double-digit annual growth with Geneva’s competence in pharmaceuticals, chemistry, biotechnology, microtechnology, precision instruments and medical devices continuing to attract multinational healthcare and life science companies. Dr Benoit Dubuis, president of the BioAlps association, says that it is this combination of disciplines that gives the cluster its edge: “The healthcare sector today is integrated with multi- disciplinary approaches; we have all these competencies here, developed at the universities and prestigious research institutions such as UNIGE, hepia and EPFL. These are bases for generating innovation and growth. We also have a highly 'Number one cluster for life sciences research in continental Europe,' specialised workforce and a very efficient financial sector in Geneva, which are keys to the success of our cluster. Geneva has all the ingredients that make a biocluster efficient.” Also executive director of the new centre of excellence Campus Biotech Geneva, and development director of the Wyss Centre, Dr Dubuis explains the mission of the new eco system created at Campus Biotech: “Campus Biotech is a new centre of excellence in biotechnology and life science research. It focuses on pure science and its translation into practical outcomes that have an impact on society
“The sector relies on a vibrant community, which collaborates and meets around conferences. Campus Biotech itself hosts many major conferences,” says Dr Dubuis, adding that, for him, it is the spirit of Geneva that makes it so good for meetings: “We have a lot of international institutions, people come here ready to talk and discuss, to meet and plan for success. Geneva is easy to access, and we have the infrastructure. Connectivity is vital, with Europe and the world; congresses are definitely one of the best ways to connect the communities. We want to create a Pavlovian response, so that when people think about life sciences and healthcare, they think about the Health Valley.”
and the world. Campus Biotech is expected to generate a vast range of opportunities, bringing impetus and investment to this vital economic and scientific sector.” This new ecosystem is benefiting both start- ups and scale-ups, and the Wyss Centre offers resources and expertise to accelerate progress from neuroscience research to clinical solutions in order to improve the lives of people with nervous system disorders. “For example, we hire highly experienced people in fields such as manufacturing, IP and regulation, which can really help new projects and start-ups. A lot of start-ups have highly motivated and innovative people who do not necessarily understand industry requirements. This makes a real difference.
BioAlps Geneva is part of BioAlps, the most diversified life science cluster in the world. The BioAlps cluster ranks among the top three world centres for added-value growth for the life science industry, along with Shanghai in the People's Republic of China and Cambridge in the United Kingdom. / 935 biotechnology, pharma, medtech, nutrition, cosmetics, services, associations and investing companies / 500 private and public research laboratories / 39 research institutions, universities and university hospitals with relevant capabilities and expertise / 51 private and public innovation support mechanisms (start-up incubators, science parks, technology transfer offices, promotion offices, coaching entities, venture capital funds and innovation accelerators) / 7 cantonal support organisms / 26,000 professionals employed by the industry and 5,000 researchers and scientists in the life sciences
IV geneva 2018
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