The Guy Ourisson research campus will be built on the former Sanofi Labmate Online site
Following the acquisition of the former Sanofi site in Strasbourg, the French CRO NovAliX, specializing in drug research and development, announced its intention to develop the site into a therapeutic innovation campus, including a electron cryo-microscopy.
The 1.5 hectare (3.7 acre) site, including an 8,000 m2 (86,000 ft2) building designed to the highest standards of pharmaceutical research, will place NovAliX’s activities alongside prestigious research institutes such as the Supramolecular Chemistry Laboratory (Institute of Supramolecular Science and Engineering – ISIS) founded by Jean-Marie Lehn, Nobel laureate in chemistry.
The site will bear the name Campus de Recherche Guy Ourisson, in homage to the scientist behind the Strasbourg site and will be shared by several users:
NovAliX, with its headquarters and scientific center to provide research services
The Institute of Biophysics for Biomedical Research (IBRB), a center co-founded with an academic group, which focuses on medical innovation resulting from advances in cryo-electron microscopy
The Biotech Factory, made up of laboratories dedicated to therapeutic innovation used by several biotechnology companies
“Our main objective was to find a buyer who could maintain very high standards of quality biomedical research. NovAliX ticked all the boxes on our list,” said Jacques Volckmann, Head of R&D France at Sanofi. “I am delighted to see NovAliX further develop its activity in Strasbourg following this acquisition and to see it become a key player in the local ecosystem with its international ambition. Sanofi will also benefit from the expertise of the NovAliX teams – with a partnership announced at the end of 2021, through which we are currently working together to develop new DNA-encoded libraries.
“By acquiring this site, NovAliX has the chance to accelerate its development, to use new biological and pharmacological capacities and thus to strengthen its position as CRO and to become an indispensable and valuable partner, contributing to the success of therapeutic research programs. of its customers. said Stephan Jenn, president and co-founder of NovAliX. “This transaction also represents an opportunity for the company’s founders to realize our vision for the future of research. This campus serves as a manifesto, it promises a new way of organizing discovery research and offers a unique place, bringing together players to promote the emergence and success of therapeutic innovation.
The Institute of Biophysics for Biomedical Research is a project that associates NovAliX with a world-renowned university group. It is not only a technological platform offering cryo-electron microscopy at the highest level, but also a place dedicated to the creation of new therapeutic options and technologies. Just as medical imaging has contributed enormously to advances in clinical research, NovAliX is convinced that cryo-electron microscopy, which it has been offering since 2016, has the same potential to advance future therapeutic research.
“It is important for NovAliX to build a campus that will support the creation of a network within the ecosystem of therapeutic innovation”, explained Denis Zeyer, CEO of NovAliX. “Once there, we will embark on this new adventure and welcome an initial group of companies to campus, including Alysophil, Ksilink, Reach Separations and Urania Therapeutics, with more to follow. By setting up this site — which we like to call the Biotech Factory — specifically dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship, and by setting it up within the Biovalley France competitiveness cluster in the heart of the Upper Rhine region, it offers more than access to equipped offices and laboratories. It also creates an immersive experience, with other actors on site having a wealth of scientific, industrial and entrepreneurial expertise to share.
The construction program, led by Guillaume Delemazure of DeA architectes, will begin in 2022 and will transform the campus site; it will be suitably equipped for all the activities that will take place.
Partners: Banque des Territoires, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations group (Patrick François, Alexandre Schnell and Amaury de Malartic)
Financial institutions: Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe (Mireille Maury, Sébastien Pierre and Gleb Vorobyev), Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne (Thierry Kormann and Gaëlle Tassery) and La Banque Postale (Paul-Henri Wallut).
Legal and consulting: Bird & Bird (Emmanuelle Porte, Virginie Estéoule and Benjamin Lichtle), Orion (Pascal Schmitt).
Architecture agency and design offices: DeA (Guillaume Delemazure).
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