"Computational Genomics: Interpret and Act" Genopole's interdisciplinary colloquium held Thursday 21 November at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, drew close to 200 attendees, and in so doing, illustrated the extensive interest that the discipline inspires. Today, beyond its scientific momentum, we are also witnessing the birth of a computational genomics industry.

The rapid development of genomics marks the arrival of a new era where our growing knowledge of genomes will unlock mysteries of life and reveal entire, currently unknown ecosystems: plankton in the oceans, microbiomes in the earth below us, and so much more. Applied to humans, genomics will also soon give rise to novel personalized approaches to medicine.

Genopole welcomes Innovators and Entrepreneurs in biotech to discover the leading biotech ecosystem in France. The Open day will be the opportunity to visit the Lab Biotech Shaker and the Open Lab, the new Genopole/CCI Essonne co-working space of offices & laboratory. Save the date and register online

BIO Europe, the continent’s largest life sciences partnering conference, proposes numerous opportunities to share and network with life science specialists from around the world. This year’s event drew 4,442 people from 61 countries and 2,300 companies. Among those attendees were academics, venture capitalists, and representatives from pharmaceutical companies, biotechs and competitiveness clusters.

Project managers from Genopole Enterprises represented Genopole companies at the event and empowered the biocluster’s visibility at the world level.

MEDICA Düsseldorf - 18 November 2019

MEDICA is a leading international trade fair that draws more than 5500 exhibitors from 71 countries to its 17 event halls. The fair covers all facets of the world's medical technologies and products market (instruments, diagnostics, CROs, research, etc.). Genopole's international business manager and representatives from the Medicen Paris Region competiveness cluster were there to meet and follow up with businesses interested in joining the biocluster and/or partnering with its companies.

French Healthcare Investment Days Biotech Showcase San Francisco - 13 January 2020

In the company of Business France, Genopole International Business Development Manager Laurent Pépin will participate in Biotech Showcase, a must-attend event for exchanges and networking held in complementarity to the 38th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Biotech Showcase is the networking pièce de résistance for biotech investors, CEOs and business developers.

TechDay, Tunis 29-30 January 2020

Genopole will attend the 2nd edition of TechDay, a part of the program The Next Society financed by the European Commission.

PEP-Therapy chosen for AstraZeneca's ReAliZe program

The Genopole-accredited company PEP-Therapy was chosen for ReAliZe, an open-innovation program piloted by the biopharmaceutical group AstraZeneca and intended for start-ups in the oncology sector.

PEP-Therapy, co-founded and presided by Antoine Prestat (far right in the photo), was a laureate in the Scientific Innovation category. Eight other companies have also been retained for the second phase of the program, which also includes categories for Artificial Intelligence, Data Management, and Patient Itinerary & Experience.

Antoine Prestat: "I am delighted that PEP-Therapy was chosen for ReAliZe. The program will allow us to develop a unique relationship with AstraZeneca. For three years, with ReAliZe, we will benefit from personalized accompaniment, have the opportunity to work with AstraZeneca's specialists and take advantage of their visibility and network."

The Genomics and Radiobiology of Keratinopoiesis laboratory (LGRK–CEA), a specialist in skin stem cells, and I-Stem (AFM-Teléthon / University of Évry / Inserm), France's largest laboratory for human pluripotent stem cell R&D, recently showed that a transcription factor, KLF4, controls the proliferation of skin stem cells and their ability to rebuild the epidermis.

The stem cells located in the deeper layers of the epidermis have strong regenerative capacity. The field of bioengineering is tapping into that capacity to develop methods for the ex vivo cultivation of keratinocytes, the primary epidermal cell, and the production of epidermal sheets. With their work, the LGRK/I-Stem team seeks to contribute to the development of a more effective alternative to conventional skin grafts for the treatment of large wounds and serious burns (Above: graft obtained by bioengineering - © LGRK, IRCM, CEA-Jacob).

Researchers from the SABNP laboratory (Inserm / University of Evry) demonstrated the role of a molecular condensate in the splicing of precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA), an essential step in the translation of genetic information into a functioning protein.

Their discovery sheds new light on an essential step in gene expression, which, if dysfunctional, may drive numerous diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy, myotonic and some other forms of muscular dystrophy, or certain cancers. This work was the result of research done by Genopole Thematic Actions Incentive (ATIGE) recipient Alexandre Maucuer and his team. As an ATIGE grantee, Dr. Maucuer joined the SABNP laboratory, where he began his research project on molecular interactions during spliceosome assembly.

For the third consecutive year, the Evry Genopole Paris-Saclay student team brought home gold from the renowned international competition iGEM, which drew 356 teams from around the world for its 2019 edition. The work of the iGEM team is furthermore nominated for the prestigious "Best Measurement" prize.

Under the banner "Fat and Fabulous", the iGEM Evry team focused on the biological production of two rare fatty acids using the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica.

As in years past, the team demonstrated the excellence of the Evry area and created contacts beyond the competition. Their work was made possible by grants from the University of Evry, Genopole, Paris-Saclay University, the Investissements d'Avenir program and the Grand Paris Sud Urban Area.

Project supervision was provided by members of several institutions, including the UMR 8030 Genomics Metabolics/iSSB laboratory (CEA-CNRS-University of Evry), the Micalis Institute (UMR1319 INRA-APT) and GenHotel (University of Evry).