Lyonbiopole Announces Success at BIO 2015

LYON, FRANCE--(Marketwired - Jul 28, 2015) - Lyonbiopole, leader in the life science industry, showcased at the BIO International Convention for the ninth consecutive year, celebrating an impressive delegation, influential awards and announcements, and renewed ties with partners on the American East Coast. Participants of the Lyonbiopole mission included Adocia, Alaxia, Alizé Pharma, BIOASTER, CapEval Pharma, CEA Leti, Cytoo, ElsaLys Biotech, ERYtech Pharma, Eveon, Flamel Technologies, Genoway, ImmunID, Kallistem, Maat Pharma, Newtone Technologies, Orega Biotech, PDC*line Pharma, TransCure bioServices and Transgene.

"BIO 2015 was once again very successful for our members, and especially for the SMEs that benefit from the unmatched opportunity to exchange with peers, enrich innovation roadmaps and to create new contacts that could potentially lead to investment, partnership and research collaboration," shared Florence Agostino-Etchetto, Director General of Lyonbiopole.

The delegation coordinated and accompanied by Lyonbiopole was the largest French group to attend the event. Funded by Rhône-Alpes Regional Council, Lyon Metropole and Grenoble Metropole, Lyonbiopole marked their tenth anniversary by showcasing the wealth, dynamism and maturity of the Rhône-Alpes life sciences cluster.

Illustrating this exuberant ecosystem, PDC*line Pharma announced at BIO 2015 that PDC*vac, its new line of anti-cancer vaccines based on a line of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDC*line), has been awarded the MTI (medicine of innovative therapy) classification by the Committee of Innovative Therapies and the EMA (European Medicines Agency), with support from the European Commission. The EMA/CAT considers that PDC*vac corresponds to the definition of an MTI in the category of somatic cell therapy medicine.

Three event highlights:

• The France-USA networking lunch was organized by OnlyLyon on Monday June 15th, and attended by the Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, and the entire delegation. Florence Agostino-Etchetto spoke about the region's strengths in the biotech and medtech sectors, both in terms of research, health establishments and industry. The Mayor of Philadelphia highlighted the dynamic energy of the region and its support for entrepreneurial development and innovation. The delegation met again next day at the Lyonbiopole stand.
  
  "Our goal was to maximize our impact at BIO 2015 and to strengthen institutional and operational relations between the Lyon area and the East Coast of the United States. The historic partnership between the Rhône Alps region and Philadelphia was also an excellent opportunity to promote the delegation members and our ecosystem and to introduce them to top quality contacts," explained Clémence Labat of Lyon Metropole.
  
  
• Lyonbiopole also hosted a round table 'Life Science Intermediaries: The Unsung Heroes in the Commercialization of Innovations' on Tuesday June 16th. Florence Agostino-Etchetto underlined the support offered by the French cluster to the sector's national companies. She also spoke about the stimulating effects of these actions on the growth of SMEs, the scientific excellence of their innovations and the capacity to market products thanks to various development support platforms in the region including Accinov and the TRI BIOASTER.
  
  
• Following the convention, from June 19^th to 23^rd, several exhibiting companies extended their United States visit to take part in the BIO+ Mission led by FACCNE and supported by Lyonbiopole. This involved meetings with UPenn, Wistar Institute and Princeton University. CapEval Pharma, Cell&Co, Maat Pharma, Newtone, PDC*line Pharma all took part.
  
  "Our first experience with BIO and BIO+ has been exceptional. The Lyonbiopole booth provided a perfect platform for Newtone Technologies and our group was able to benefit from their numerous connections within the international and biotech ecosystem, including public and academic decision makers, industrial actors and international clusters, deepening our understanding of global collaboration in a stimulating environment," explained Jean-Michel Delaval of Newtone Technologies.
  

In addition, this exhibition gave Lyonbiopole the opportunity to reinforce relations with several international partners, including the city of Boston where Lyon launched the Big Booster program, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and the Research Triangle of North Carolina.

Lyonbiopole's members are already looking forward to BIO 2016 when the international convention will take place in San Francisco.

About Lyonbiopole
As a biocluster, Lyonbiopole is the one-stop shop for healthcare innovation in Rhône-Alpes, France. It aims to support the emergence and development of innovative technologies, products and services in 4 main strategic areas: human medicine, veterinary medicine, in vitro diagnostics, medical devices and medical technologies. Focused on infectious diseases since its creation in 2005, Lyonbiopole is now supporting ambitious projects and companies in other fields like cancer, nutrition, metabolic diseases and neurosciences. In 2014, Lyonbiopole represented a community of 176 members: 4 world-class leaders as Lyonbiopole's founders (Sanofi Pasteur, bioMérieux, Merial, BD) -- 18 Research Centers including 3 Hospital University Centers and almost 154 SMEs. Lyonbiopole received in November 2014, the Gold label awarded by the "European Cluster Excellence Initiative".

More information: www.lyonbiopole.com

About Lyon and ONLYLYON
ONLYLYON is both the brand and the territorial marketing program carried by 13 local institutional partners whose goal is to boost Lyon's international reach and attractiveness.

Lyon Métropole is the second largest metropolitan area in France and one of Europe's 10 principal urban regions. It has 1.6 million inhabitants and is structured around sectors of excellence including health, cleantech and digital.