Find a new model it is a question of society

Is not still furious passion, but industrial and government laboratories are openly gentle eyes. Not a week passes without the company signs a partnership, a collaboration, a joint laboratory with a public lab. These days, are the representatives of the Alliance for health travelling to the headquarters of Roche, Basel, to discuss new partnerships. The President of the new holding company of the French medical research, André Syrota, expects a massive rush of this sector to public research: "the pharmacy industry will outsource between 20 and 30 of their research to academic laboratories."

Claire Roussel, Director of partnerships in rock France, confirmed the Conference economy Research Innovation, organised by "Les Echos" last Thursday: "the productivity of our laboratory is in free fall while R & D costs have doubled." Innovation pipe dry up, our research must go back more upstream. Find a new model, it is a question of society. "His group has in this regard to associate with a very sharp Lyon team of the CNRS who is studying a new target in cancer cells.

Sanofi-Aventis, for its part, plans to finalize a large framework agreement with Inserm before the end of the year. October 26, the strategic Council of health industries will come to the Elysee expose the problem. And other disciplines of biology are confronted with the same needs increased upstream research. Face the multiple challenges of Agronomy, the agrochemist and seed Bayer CropScience has strengthened this year its alliance with the CNRS joint laboratory on the biology of plants.

In other industrial sectors, in recent weeks, we saw Renault unveil a very ambitious project with the ECA in the development of a sector of lithium-ion batteries. Total announced his side the creation of a joint laboratory with CNRS and Ecole polytechnique. Computer, Microsoft Research has renewed the funding of its joint laboratory with Inria, evidence that the collaboration works well. Olivier Cheret, Advisor for relations with the companies to the Ministry of research, industry have agreed to play the game since the decision of research come together in alliances organizations.

A formula on a case by case

Public-private collaboration can take many forms very various. Bruno Sportisse, Director of the transfer and innovation at Inria, to use the right formula adapted to each case. With Microsoft Research, the Institute has chosen to share a common laboratory because the subject matter, the security, involves basic research. Generally, the computer science research is much more drawn by the applications to use. More and more companies also opt for the tool of the Cifre contract, which allows young students to realize their position in business in connection with a foreign research team. Clarisse Angelier, of the ANRT, recalled that 3,000 theses are carried out each year, having doubled in ten years and now 15 of doctorates.

Remains the perennial issue of SMEs, for which innovation is less natural. To the Ministry of research, considered that the right mesh to hang these smaller players will be the University. Each pole of research and higher education will have to create a platform for recovery, knowing that half of the academic enhancement structures are less than 3.5 persons. "Major groups know very well act in any particular device, but not SMEs", said Laure Reinhart, Associate Executive Director of Oseo.