La banque d'un monde qui change 2004 - BNP Paribas

44retail banking45LEYPot of Skills and ExpertiseSylvie DebraManaging DirectorAlsace Biovalley - Partner of BNP Paribas - Alsace, FranceDubbed as Europe’s answer to Silicon Valley in California,Biovalley is the world’s leading life sciences cluster,straddling three regions of France, Germanyand Switzerland. Biovalley operates a network of “over3,000 people representing companies, research institutes,education and training organisations, technology transfercentres, regional development agencies, venture capitalspecialists, banks and service providers.” This uniquetri-national territory covers Alsace, the northwest ofSwitzerland and the Southern part of Baden-Wurtemberg.Alsace Biovalley, created in July 1998, is the non-profitorganisation responsible for the French sectionof Biovalley and coordinates European funding for thethree Biovalley countries. Biovalley receives the bulkof its resources from local government authorities.“As a life sciences centre, Alsace is ranked second inFrance for the number of scientific publications, linkageswith industry, quality of research projects, density ofbiotech companies and annual fund-raising support.”In 2004, Alsace Biovalley raised EUR 75 million in capitalfor research projects in life sciences, chemistry andmedical science. Research activities in Alsace involve120 public sector laboratories, 1,400 research scientists,20,000 students and more than 130 companies, 80%of which are small life sciences companies, together witha number of global pharmaceutical companies. The futurelooks bright: “Nearly 20 biotech start-ups have been setup since 1998, creating more than 330 jobs”.