Medical Technologies

When innovation in Provence spurs global medical progress

Aix-Marseille-Provence is renowned for its wide variety of tech companies and its pioneering cross-fertilization approach that shares expertise and resources between sectors. This is a major reason why the area has attracted so many medical technology companies.

The metropolis is one of the leading research hubs in France with internationally recognized excellence in multiple areas including:

• mechanics and fluid mechanics
• optics-photonics
• biomechanics and biomaterials
• electronics and microelectronics
• software engineering…

This on-site network of tech and engineering expertise is an enormous opportunity for businesses in fields such as medical imaging, medical implants, or Health 2.0. The sector is further aided by the fact that Aix-Marseille Provence Metropolis is a leading European data hub and logistics center, as this is a huge advantage when it comes to communication and information sharing. It is no surprise that the health services sector is growing rapidly in Provence and has been recently given the French Tech Santé certification that will generate even more public and private support for the field.

Provence is also a major international hub for medical diagnostics, The Eurobiomed competiveness cluster, which has its headquarters in Marseille, includes more than 70 medical diagnostics companies. This cluster is part of a European network of elite diagnostics firms and is a founding member of the European Diagnostic Clusters, which includes more than 400 businesses from the sector.

Key Numbers from the Health Services Sector in Provence

• 170 000 employees
• #2 center for public health research
• #2 center for neuroscience research
• 113 public research units
• 6000 public and private R&D employees
• more than 1000 PhDs students every year.

Regional advantages for medical technical companies seeking to relocate

- Cutting-edge infrastructure with world-leading units such as the Gamma Knife center at the Hôpital de la Timone with its next generation radiosurgery equipment (only facility in world with two Perfexion systems) and the 7 Tesla Whole Body MRI platform managed by the Center for Magnetic Resonance in Biology and Medicine (only machine in France).

- Innovation spaces for joint experiments run by industrial concerns and scientific communities such as the TEAM Henri-Fabre research facility, the Hôtel Technoptique innovation lab in Château Gombert, the Ecole des Mines campus in Gardanne, the Center for Virtual Reality of the Mediterranean, and the European Center for Research in Medical Imaging.

- A world-renowned health tech cluster, Eurobiomed, which is the #1 health cluster in France with more than 250 member companies.

- A dynamic and comprehensive system of public research laboratories linked to major medical sectors including those at Aix-Marseille University such as the Fresnel Institute, the Laboratoire d'Informatique Fondamentale, the Center for Particle Physics of Marseille, and the Institut des Sciences du Mouvement; and those at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) such as the National Institute of Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics (IN2P3) or the Institut des Sciences de l'Ingénierie et des Systèmes (INSIS).

- An organization dedicated to technology transfer, SATT Sud-Est, aims to bring innovation and research from public research bodies and laboratories into the private market by granting operating licenses to companies.

- The presence of diverse competiveness clusters in industries that are complimentary to medical technology and share certain resources and ambitions, such as the Secured Communicating Solutions cluster, the OPTITEC photonics cluster, and the SAFE safety and security cluster.

- Major long-term projects such as the creation of the Virtual Human by the Laboratory of Biomechanics and Applications.