The French city of Lyon is sending a delegation of 14 biotechnology companies to seek partners in Atlanta at the 2009 BIO International Convention on May 18.

The city’s efforts are part of a broader push by France to showcase its growing bioscience industry, according to Isabelle Scarabin, director of economic and international affairs for Lyon Biopole, a bio cluster in the city.

During a recent interview in her office, Ms. Scarabin told GlobalAtlanta that Lyon has a long history as a leader in research on infectious diseases and the development of specialized treatments. 

A century ago, Charles Merieux, a student of famed French microbiologist Louis Pasteur, pioneered the industrialization of vaccines at his institute in Lyon.

Now, the city is seeking to build on that tradition by becoming a global leader in bioscience, especially in the fight against infectious diseases, Ms. Scarabin said.

“We are trying to impress new strategies and new approaches, and we try to be a leader on this topic on an international scale for France,” she said.

Ms. Scarabin said that life sciences has become a global industry, and that the right partners for a company could be anywhere in the world. 

France is attempting to find those partners through a variety of seminars at the upcoming BIO convention, which is expected to draw about 16,000 people from 60 countries to Atlanta.

Events on research and development in France, a presentation outlining new approaches to combating tuberculosis and information on France’s incentives for biotechnology companies will all be on display at the conference.   [See Lyon companies here.]

Life sciences is a fast-growing sector even in the tough economic climate. According to the Web site of the Innovation Crescent, a region stretching from Atlanta to Athens touting itself as a life sciences hub, the industry has grown 140 percent in Georgia since 1993.

Thierry de Lumley, who directs life sciences efforts at the Lyon Area Economic Development Agency, said that despite the downturn, bioscience projects have been rapidly developing in Lyon.

“We’ve never seen so many large projects inquiring about the Lyon area to do production and to do R&D,” Mr. de Lumley told GlobalAtlanta.  “We’re not sure why, but we think it’s because of Lyon’s success in the biotech industry.

One of Lyon’s strengths is that the city is relatively large, with nearly 1.4 million people, but networking is manageable, said Pascal Reber, Genzyme Corp.’s general manager for industrial operations in France.  It’s also specialized enough in the biotechnology sector that companies can find the expertise they need.

Massachusetts-based Genzyme is making in Lyon an immunosuppressant drug used during organ transplant surgeries. The company is building a new $105 million facility in the city.

To learn more about the BIO convention, click here.  To learn more about Lyon’s biotechnology scene, watch the videos above.

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