Let's meet Communication and international relations Director Frédéric Druck

Today we realize that our selecting and backing of small and medium-sized enterprises is a success. The fact that they receive official labels confirms it. Beyond national requests for proposals, we also run transnational actions.The network we have set up at a European level helps us to find new partners. For instance, we have built with Lyonbiopôle a research platform in immunotoxicology to develop joint projects aimed at detecting very early on molecules prone to disturb the immune system. Each of us is making the most of our capacities, which are complementary.

We are also working with other clusters, in a less formal way but with a real dynamic. It is notably the case with EuroBioMed or Atlantic Biotherapies, which are, like us, committed to the development of their SMEs.

More generally, we belong to the CEBR network, which allows us to collaborate with Scandinavian or German clusters, for instance. It's a small circle, we all have the same targets and sometimes the same financing policy – I'm thinking about how Europe gives general support to clustering and innovating policies. So EuroBiO is a major event for us, since it enables us to meet all the contributors we regularly get in touch with

And since we also need to open new horizons, we truly believe in intersectoral networking. We look closely at what's happening in nanomedicines, microtechnologies or in the food industry. Though this cross-fertilization is still operating at a national level, I think that we will soon be able to team up on a European scale.