The Burgundy-Franche-Comté Region and the US State of Wisconsin strengthen their partnership
02 April 2025 L'agence, Innovation / Recherche Biothérapies Share :
Following the adoption by the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region of the roadmap on biotherapies and bioproduction, an official regional delegation — composed of Nicolas Soret, Vice-President in charge of finance, economic development, social and solidarity economy and employment, Martine Abrahamse-Pleux, Managing Director of AER BFC until 12/31/2024, and Nicolas Paris, President of the BioForward cluster and CEO of the company Gilson established in the region — traveled to the United States from October 27 to November 1, 2024. This mission, aimed at promoting the sector internationally, led to the signing of a partnership agreement between BioForward and AER BFC. To further strengthen this collaboration, an American delegation, led by the Governor of the State of Wisconsin, will visit Bourgogne-Franche-Comté on April 3 and 4, 2025.
Towards an expansion of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté / Wisconsin partnership
Although health is the cornerstone of this partnership, it is not the only area concerned: the collaboration between Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Wisconsin is expected to extend to other strategic sectors such as agri-food, a key sector for both territories. Indeed, Wisconsin, which ranks first in the United States for the production of cheese, ginseng, cranberries, green beans, dry whey, and dairy goats, produces 25% of American cheese and 14% of American milk, making it a major strategic partner in the agri-food sector.
An immersion in the regional ecosystem
During these two days in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, the American delegation will be welcomed by Marie-Guite Dufay, President of the Region, Nicolas Soret and Arnaud Marthey, Deputy Regional Councillor in charge of economic intelligence innovation and technology transfer for the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region and Vice-President of AER BFC will discover the regional ecosystems of health and agri-food. The program will be structured in two stages. The first in Dijon, focusing on agri-food, with a visit to the company TIPPAGRAL, a manufacturer of dairy and cheese products, member of the VITAGORA competitiveness cluster. In parallel, on the health topic, participation of the BioForward cluster in the launch of Santenov. The second stage in Besançon will include a discovery of the TEMIS innovation cluster, the microtechnology competitiveness cluster (PMT), and companies and laboratories related to biotherapies and bioproduction, a sector whose development is the subject of a regional roadmap adopted by the Region in October 2024.
Strengthening international exchanges
The visit of this delegation highlights once again the importance of the internationalization of ecosystems to ensure both national and international visibility.
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, undeniable assets for the development of biotherapies and bioproduction
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, with its rich ecosystem of research institutes, laboratories, hospitals, and regional companies, has many assets to become a key player in this future-oriented field. First, because our skills are already recognized worldwide in two fields of innovative therapies: cell, tissue, and gene therapies on one hand, and theranostics on the other. Supporting these two specializations, the region can count on exceptional suppliers of disruptive technologies and biocomponents, such as RD Biotech in Besançon, the only French supplier of plasmid DNA, or Chematech in Dijon, stemming from the ICMUB laboratory, which manufactures chelating agents for targeted internal radiotherapy. Secondly, because our region, characterized by a predominantly industrial workforce, land of expertise with Pasteur and cradle of precision mechanics with watchmaking, knows how to industrialize the infinitely small — an essential expertise in the field of biotherapies.