The French Connection - A French cluster dedicated to life sciences and healthcare, Alsace BioValley is an ideal starting point to develop any bio-business on a European scale. Located in France's Alsace region at the heart of Europe, its tri-national environment offers a unique concentration of businesses and services dedicated to the life sciences and healthcare.

This cosmopolitan region is extremely attractive, as proven by its internationally acclaimed experts, multiple platforms offering scientific services, and a dynamic life sciences network spreading across three countries - France, Germany and Switzerland - and including 600 businesses, 15,000 scientists and a workforce of 50,000 people in life sciences.

Offering the highest concentration of R&D in Europe, Alsace is home to one of France's largest universities, which counts among the foremost European academic research institutions thanks to the world-renowned excellence of its research teams. Furthermore, three of Alsace's "Grandes Ecoles" are in the top 30 engineering schools for innovation. It is hardly surprising that Alsace holds the second national position for scientific publications and the third for European patent registration. A land of outstanding research, Alsace ranks first among France's regions in terms of attractiveness for foreign students, second for foreign researchers, and it is France's third scientific hub, reaching 300 million European consumers within a 500-mile radius.

Consequently, many companies have already recognized all the benefits this region has to offer to R&D projects: over 1,200 foreign-held firms are established in Alsace. Around 40% of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies are located in the area covering France, Germany and Switzerland, the national boundaries of which have been virtually swept away, opening the region to Europe and the rest of the world.

A Region Teeming With Bio-Business Advantages

In addition to this favorable environment, life science companies and laboratories find many advantages that help optimize their business in Alsace, notably the presence of the Alsace BioValley, a bio-cluster dedicated to therapeutic innovations, focusing particularly on biopharmaceuticals and medical technologies.

Alsace BioValley has attained the French government's official "Healthcare Cluster" label and works to federate and support the region's companies, research laboratories, and universities active in life sciences and healthcare. Thanks to a structured network including institutional and economic partners, the cluster provides a vast range of free and confidential services customized for life sciences companies interested in doing bio-business in Alsace and Europe. These include: R&D project and financial engineering, business opportunities, commercial representation at international trade fairs, partners/technologies identification and matchmaking, business establishment, scientific and market information, etc.
Alsace BioValley enjoys a global presence thanks to Alsace International's (the economic development agency of the Alsace region) network of branch offices including offices in the U.S., Japan, China, Israel, India etc. Within Alsace BioValley, each company or laboratory is in contact with a dedicated scientific and business advisor who follows a project throughout all phases.
The cluster also actively supports the development of Alsace's infrastructures for scientific excellence, including specialized real estate, platforms offering targeted scientific services, logistics and pooled services.

Alsace's geographic position makes it possible to save time, since all life sciences players are located within the immediate area. That means that a company or laboratory's potential partners are all within driving distance (90 min.), obviously making it easier to expand faster.
What's more, a number of financial and fiscal benefits are available in Alsace, as current French tax laws are among the World's most favorable to R&D investment. Companies eligible for what are the most attractive research tax credits in Europe can claim up to 50% back of their R&D expenditures as tax credit and double their R&D tax credit return if they outsource to a French public research laboratory. The French government has confirmed that it will increase its R&D tax credit incentives in the next three years. In addition, France offers even more specific forms of R&D support: national and local funding, aid in the form of grants or 0% loans, and public aid combinable with the Research Tax Credit. Public-private R&D projects can receive up to 60% state funding, while businesses can get additional aid for R&D projects designed in partnership with French public laboratories.

Last but not least, the region is well known for its exceptional quality of life. With a cosmopolitan population, multilingual educational structures, excellent transportation systems, and a multicultural tradition rooted in a rich setting of historic cities and pristine nature, Alsace offers all the best to do the best business.