26 September 2013

PRESS RELEASE – Sherbrooke Innopole and Medicon Village AB, in Sweden, have announced the ratification of a memorandum of understanding to stimulate cooperation among the life sciences hubs in their respective regions. The agreement was signed as part of the International Life Sciences Summit currently taking place in Sherbrooke.

The cooperation agreement will bring the two organizations together to encourage and promote the life sciences industry in Sherbrooke, Québec, and Lund, Sweden. Moreover, it will foster and strengthen research- and business-related collaboration and discussion.

Josée Fortin, director general of Sherbrooke Innopole, Marc Cantin, president of the Board of Sherbrooke Innopole, Ursula Hultkvist Bengtsson, executive vice-president of Medicon Village, and Ola Hermanson, scientific coordinator KI-Canada at Karolinska Institutet.

» See all the photos from the press conference

» Watch the video of the press conference

Lund and Sherbrooke are fast becoming global life sciences hubs, energized by a vital and innovative research sector, leading-edge research infrastructures, dynamic key players, and an active and diversified industrial base.

Medicon Village is a research, innovation and business complex for the life sciences. Offering 80,000 m² of leasehold premises for researchers and entrepreneurs, with a number of research centres close by, the site is well suited for collaboration and innovation. It houses more than 850 people dedicated to improving population health and well-being.

As a Local Development Centre (CLD) and economic development agency for the City of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke Innopole offers advice and coaching as well as technical and financial support to companies in its five key sectors—including Life Sciences—that are engaged in implementation, innovation, growth, and consolidation. Sherbrooke Innopole also works to convert the knowledge and discoveries of Sherbrooke’s two universities into economic value. Sherbrooke has two science parks recognized by the International Association of Science Parks, one of which is especially well suited to the life sciences sector, with proximity to every component needed for its development: health care, teaching, and research & development.

This agreement, of course, adds to the one renewed last year with Montpellier Agglomération. Marc Cantin, Chair of Sherbrooke Innopole’s Board of Directors, expressed his pleasure with this global cooperation agreement in the Life Sciences sector by stating: “In today’s highly competitive life sciences industry, as borders tumble, paving the way for productive collaboration, Sherbrooke Innopole and Medicon Village are forging a mutually beneficial alliance that will expedite innovation as well as success in both business and research. Through this agreement with another high-calibre player, Sherbrooke researchers and entrepreneurs will be able to share their expertise, disseminating it and sharing it with their Swedish collaborators. Medicon Village is a well-known cooperative model, which will inspire Sherbrooke stakeholders as they continue to nurture the vitality of this key sector.”

“At Medicon Village, we are very proud to sign a MoU with Sherbrooke Innopole for mutual benefit in the field of Life Science, said Ursula Hultkvist Bengtsson, Vice President at Medicon Village. This is an important step in the international reach out for Medicon Village. We expect the cooperation will create great value for our members and that we in turn can contribute to development in the Life Sciences cluster in Sherbrooke. The global health problems can only be solved by working together, and therefore it is important to reach out and establish cooperation for the benefit of people´s health and well-being.”

“Specifically, the memorandum of understanding will create partnerships for the organization and promotion of events, by welcoming delegations, and by visiting businesses and research centres,” explained Josée Blanchard, Director of Business Development for the Life Sciences at Sherbrooke Innopole. “We also plan to provide temporary premises for companies interested in exploring the market in Sherbrooke and Sweden. And the cooperation agreement is off to a good start: four of our Swedish colleagues have travelled to Sherbrooke for the International Life Sciences Summit!”

Initial contact between the two organizations was made by the Investissement Québec office in Stockholm, Sweden.

About Medicon Village

Medicon Village is a life science village for research, innovation and business. It is owned by Mats Paulsson Foundation for research, innovation and social development. The foundation’s surplus is reinvested into research and innovation. Members represent the complete value chain including researchers, clinicians, innovators, contractors and businesses in the life sciences area. Academia as well as regional authorities and members of trade and industry are also on site. All work together under a single flag to create value for people’s health and wellbeing. www.mediconvillage.se

About Sherbrooke Innopole

Sherbrooke Innopole is the Local Development Centre (CLD) of the regional county municipality (MRC) of Sherbrooke. Its mission is to stimulate coherent, innovative, and dynamic economic development by leveraging the start-up of companies that are the product of Sherbrooke research and ingenuity; by attracting new businesses; by supporting the expansion, innovation, and globalization efforts of existing manufacturers; by putting the multidisciplinary expertise of our team to good use; and by focusing on our five forward-looking key sectors: Life Sciences, Cleantech, Micro-Nanotechnologies, Information and Communication Technologies, and Advanced Manufacturing. www.sherbrooke-innopole.com