Genopole opens application process for Shaker and Booster programs to international candidates

Genopole, a French biocluster dedicated to research in the fields of genetics and biotechnology, today announces that it is now accepting applications for the third intake of its support programs titled Shaker, designed for people running innovative projects, and Booster, aimed at companies that are less than two years old. For this third call for proposals, both French and international companies as well as graduates are encouraged to apply. A delegation from Genopole will present details of these support programs at stand #527 at BIO Convention in Boston (June 4–7).

Jean-Marc Grognet, Genopole’s chief executive said:

Following the success of the first two intakes, we are opening up the application process to international project leaders and companies who through us can benefit from the ‘French Tech Visa’ program. The scheme is run by the French government to attract international talent to France. Our ambition is to be a major player in the four P’s of medicine (predictive, personalized, preventive and participative). We also welcome innovative biotech companies in the fields of environment, energy, agri-food, cosmetics and more. Attracting new foreign talent to Genopole and facilitating exchanges between scientists and entrepreneurs from different backgrounds will encourage innovation and entrepreneurship."

The first two programs ran in mid-2017 and at the start of 2018. These resulted in the selection of eight project leaders for the Shaker program and 13 companies for the Booster scheme.

Projects that were selected for the second intake of the Shaker program focus on developing new techniques for measuring antioxidant effectiveness, the production of iris essential oil through biosynthesis and the development of a portable blood analyzer.

A number of companies from the second intake of Booster work on software and other tools to aid decision-making in the e-health sector (related to surgical procedures, medical records in kidney transplants and neuro-reanimation). The environmental segment is also represented, with projects on pollution management solutions as well as the development of molecules for seed treatment.

Alain Clergeot, director of Genopole Enterprises said:

The first Shaker and Booster intakes were proof of their relevance and the importance of the innovation they foster. Biomédé, a company dedicated to soil clean-up that took part in the first intake of Shaker, was selected to join Booster, which shows that our programs accelerate the success of selected candidates and facilitate company creation. We are eager to present our support packages and their benefits to international candidates who will be welcomed for this third intake."

Testimonials

“This is an amazing opportunity as Shaker provides access to a fully equipped L2 lab where we will be able to grow different types of cell cultures as well as a high-throughput screening platform, which is essential for implementing our technology. The package also offers a flat fee for the reagents and consumables we need to perform our experiments,” said Elie Hatem, leader of the Oxsam project, which aims to develop an innovative technology that validates and objectifies the pro- or antioxidant effect of molecules with significance for the cosmetics, agri-food and pharmaceutical industries. “Shaker is a unique package that will enable us to perform experiments, without constraints and with the right tools; with the aim of validating our technology’s proof of concept and, if everything goes well, to create a company.”

“Taking part in Booster gives us the opportunity to integrate into a specialized biotech ecosystem. We get a lot from interacting and exchanging ideas with people who face the same challenges on a daily basis. Booster will enable us to optimize and accelerate our current fundraising,” said Jérôme Braudeau and Baptiste Billoir, founders of AgenT, working to detect the onset of Alzheimer's earlier than is possible with current diagnostic methods. “We receive knowledgeable and inspiring advice, which is crucial in a company’s first few years to save time and avoid making strategic errors.”

Applications are accepted until midnight CEST on July 20, 2018. The selection committee will meet on September 12 and 13, with new teams joining at the start of October.

Source: https://www.genopole.fr