bioXclusters is a project carried out with support from the European Union that brings together the four leading clusters in biotechnology and health to promote the internationalization of SMEs in these regions.
Bavaria (Germany), Catalonia (Spain), Piedmont (Italy) and Rhône-Alpes (France) share knowledge, skills, good practices and innovative companies in the life sciences sector mainly, focusing on the development of drugs and medical technology.
The main aim of the bioXclusters project is to create the opportunity to establish relationships in a wide-reaching network of dynamic, innovative European companies, and to improve SME’s access to three strategic markets: United States, Brazil and China, with more to come in the future. The other partners in this project, funded by the European Union, are the economic promotion agency Enterprise Rhône-Alps International (ERAI) and the bioclusters LyonBiopole (Rhône-Alps, France), BioM (Bavaria, Germany) and BioPmed (Piedmont, Italy).
The regions participating in the bioXclusters project bring together more than 1,700 companies working mainly in the fields of oncology, personalized medicine and cardiovascular, neurological, infectious and autoimmune disease. They are companies with innovative approaches that are on the cutting-edge of science, creating a dynamic environment that is perfect for tackling the needs of markets and patients today.
In 2012, the first of the events scheduled with experts took place, with the aim of providing information and opening up a channel of communication with organizations and companies in the country. 51 SMEs from the BioRegion participated in the event Fostering internationalization in Barcelona. In September of that year, five partners from the project went on a trade mission to Brazil, visiting companies and science parks in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
In May 2013, the bioXclusters partners went to Shanghai to discover and detect the main points of entry and opportunities in the Chinese life sciences sector. On this mission, the partners in the European project signed memorandums of understanding with two of the main biotechnology parks in Shanghai, Shanghai Juke Biotech Park and Zhangjian Hi-Tech Park. The agreements will help promote collaboration between European and Chinese SMEs, in addition to facilitating the exchange of information regarding the markets, processes and technical aspects of investing in China.
The third bioXclusters mission was to Boston (Massachusetts) in October 2013, geared mainly towards SMEs and research bodies working in the field of personalized medicine. In addition to visiting benchmark companies and institutions in the main life sciences cluster in the United States, participants also had the chance to get a first-hand look at the Healthbox and Masslander accelerators and to attend a series of guidance sessions with US experts.
Biocat has been in charge of communication actions for bioXclusters, including drafting the communication plan, designing the brand and the creating project’s graphic image, online tools (Twitter, LinkedIn and Vimeo) and informational materials.
