In the midst of the Chinese coronavirus crisis, the players in Med Tech - new technologies applied to health - are on the front lines. While laboratories around the world, including the Institut Pasteur in France, are competing to develop a vaccine in record time, researchers from the American Johns-Hopkins University have designed an interactive map to follow, in real time, the spread of the virus, country by country. Beyond this news, there is no shortage of innovations on which Med Tech is working.
A French example? Carmat's artificial heart: first patent filing in 1988, first prototype in 2000 and clinical trials, to prove its effectiveness, still in progress. This long road to sale, punctuated by astronomical fundraising for an SME, illustrates the obstacle course that entrepreneurs in the medical sector are facing.
"Between prototyping and marketing, it takes three years for an artificial intelligence application to classify data, and up to ten years for a surgical robot," said David Caumartin, vice-president of France Biotech, association which brings together 1000 managers and investors from the sector.
The big boost from Research Tax Credit
In France, Med Tech has 1,500 companies (93% SMEs) which generated 30 billion euros in turnover last year on the French market, with an average of 10% growth. Their prostheses, robots and other technological devices treat or improve the lives of patients. Hence a higher demand, against the background of an aging population.
Boosted by the public investment bank (BPI France) and the research tax credit (CIR), which allows partial reimbursement of research and development (R & D) expenses, the sector is one of the best represented in FT 120, the government index which brings together promising companies. Among them, Keranova, a nugget from Saint-Etienne who raised 24 million euros in 2019 for its robotic laser dedicated to the operation of cataracts.
Two years earlier, we were talking about another start-up, Wandercraft, created in 2012 and which had won 15 million euros after a round of funding from French funds. Its exoskeleton, capable of operating a disabled person without a crutch, had already managed to raise 4 million euros in 2015. Recently marketed, Atalante has already been acquired by a hospital in Eure.
Starters at Pitié-Salpêtrière
In addition to Ile-de-France, which has a plethora of R & D centers, the Besançon (Doubs) region stands out. Christophe Dollet, “smart city” project manager for the metropolis, even reports skills transfers: “From the 1970s, many watchmaking companies reoriented themselves towards aeronautics, luxury and health, thanks to to their microtechnology know-how ”.
To this pole of 300 SMEs is added the Femto-ST institute, "the largest laboratory in engineering sciences, specialized in miniaturization, which recently released a robot to operate the vocal cords, in collaboration with Germans and Italians, ”he explains.
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This whole ecosystem functions thanks to the bridges between researchers, investors or confirmed companies and start-ups with the desire to see a future champion emerge. In Paris, hospitals such as the Pitié-Salpêtrière (13th century) host startups in incubators so as to put them in touch with doctors and patients from its Brain and Spinal Cord Institute as well as industrial experts.
Simplify the administrative process in France
Med Tech is also subject to a very strict regulatory system. After obtaining the CE mark (European conformity), synonymous with efficiency, the main challenge for any new entrant is to convince the health insurance organizations of each country to reimburse their device.
"In Germany, it can take a day, in the United Kingdom, six months, and in France, where the administrative procedures are very centralized, it takes on average four years", deplores Guirec Le Lous, president of Med Tech in France (association of 40 companies), Urgo Medical and UrgoTech. However, according to him, "a company must succeed in its national market before exporting".
At the same time, the entrepreneur must raise funds again to move to industrial speed or accelerate. This is where the problem lies. "In France, it is difficult to find investors capable of putting in more than 10 million euros," regrets Guirec Le Lous. However, at this stage, the needs are far beyond, because of the high level of technologies brought together in these innovations intended for the international market. "When it works, a company realizes 70% of turnover in export", he estimates.
So much so that a company born in France, which benefited from public support to innovate, "will sell itself in the United States or in Germany to develop", he observes. The remaining companies therefore create jobs, but cannot afford to become world champions in their discipline.
To remedy this, says the expert, "a faster entry into the national market by simplifying the administrative process to obtain reimbursement, and better access to finance would allow us to transform our SMEs into mid-cap companies as France knows how to do in the luxury or aeronautics ”.