The Hauts-de-France health sector
Our comprehensive health ecosystem makes us France’s No. 3 region for the industry, with players in every segment—pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, laboratories, specialized companies, start-ups and more. Thanks to our outstanding research teams and healthcare infrastructure, this historic Hauts-de-France industry remains vibrant today, offering turnkey solutions that make it easy to locate your business here.
The Hauts-de-France health sector
Our comprehensive health ecosystem makes us France’s No. 3 region for the industry, with players in every segment—pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, laboratories, specialized companies, start-ups and more. Thanks to our outstanding research teams and healthcare infrastructure, this historic Hauts-de-France industry remains vibrant today, offering turnkey solutions that make it easy to locate your business here.
France’s No. 3 region for healthcare
We rank among the top three regions powering France’s health industry.
Fast facts:
jobs
companies
billion in sales
million invested in R&D
laboratories
researchers
Some 8% of health companies in the region are in e-health, a booming segment where healthcare meets digital technology.
The pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and nutrition segment accounts for 16% of health businesses and is a major source of opportunities, with strong, steady growth over many years.
One-quarter of the sector’s players are in specialized services, from remote patient monitoring, to clinical trials and logistics.
And the biomedical sector accounts for around half of the health companies in Hauts-de-France, in areas such as manufacturing medical devices, equipment and consumables, processing materials, and synthesizing new products.
Leading healthcare players in Hauts-de-France
Our region’s health sector includes a broad range of complementary players.
- Major pharmaceutical labs such as:
- Sanofi
- Bayer Healthcare
- GSK
- Merck
- AstraZeneca
- Makers of nutritional and pharmaceutical ingredients, including:
- Tate and Lyle
- Lesaffre
- Roquette
- Biotechnology companies such as Bio-Rad
- And innovative start-ups such as AlzProtect and MDMS
Our comprehensive health ecosystem spans the entire industry.
A leader in cutting-edge health segments
Excellence in health research
The power of the region’s health sector also comes from our outstanding research teams and healthcare facilities.
- 80+ R&D laboratories
- 4,000 public and private researchers
Fields of research excellence
- Cancer
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Neurodegenerative diseases
- Nutrition innovations
- Inflammatory intestinal disease
Elite research teams and facilities
Learn more about the cutting-edge research teams and facilities in Hauts-de-France
Close-up: Lille Pasteur Institute
The Lille Pasteur Institute is a private charitable foundation independent of the Paris Pasteur Institute. It was founded in 1894, when Lille needed an institute capable of producing anti-diphtheria serum in quantities large enough to fight a region-wide epidemic, and it was here that the tuberculosis vaccine (BCG) was invented.
From its beginnings, the Lille Pasteur Institute has worked to improve health and quality of life, and today it is a beacon for the world.
Fast facts
Key figures
- 6 multidisciplinary research units
- a testing center
- a nutrition department
- an international vaccine center
Fields of excellence
- Cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases
- Inflammatory, infectious and parasitic diseases
- Metabolic diseases
- Cancer
High-quality treatment facilities in Hauts-de-France
Elite healthcare institutions are another source of momentum for our dynamic health sector. Hauts-de-France is home to over 300 hospitals and clinics, with 2 major university hospital centers, one in Lille—with more healthcare professionals than any other center in Europe—and another in Amiens.
Lille University Hospital Center (CHU)
Lille CHU has the highest number of healthcare professionals anywhere in Europe—which gives it extraordinary potential for collaboration.
This complex includes:
- 8 hospitals
- 16,000 healthcare professionals
- 1.4m patients annually
- 3,200 beds
- 4 universities and medical schools
- 7 schools of paramedicine
- 50 research teams
Lille CHU is also home to the French pharmaceutical industry’s No. 3 clinical research center, with 4,100 patients involved in clinical trials conducted and/or coordinated in Lille.
Its 50 research teams focus on:
- Cardiometabolic health
- Inflammatory diseases
- Neuroscience
- Cancer
- Inflammation, infections and immunity
- Healthcare technology
Oscar Lambret Center
Regional center for cancer treatment and research
Founded in 1955, the Oscar Lambret Center is part of France’s Unicancer network.
In addition to participating in France’s national public hospital service, the Center is dedicated to stepping up the pace of cancer innovation for every patient in Hauts-de-France, from providing treatment to generating research projects to training the oncologists of the future.
Oscar Lambret Center sets the standards for oncology in France, focusing exclusively on:
- treatment
- research
- training
Fast facts
- A team of nearly 1,000, including 600 doctors, healthcare providers and researchers
- Over 24,000 patients seen annually, including 7,500 new patients
- Nearly 200 clinical trials conducted every year
- Over 5,000 hours of academic training annually, including university-level, post-graduate and occupational training programs
- Treatment of many different cancers, with a special focus on breast and other gynecological cancers, ENT and lung cancers, digestive and urogenital cancers, and pediatric cancers.
- Cutting-edge medical equipment, including a medical imaging center, a nuclear medicine unit, an internal radiation therapy department, an operating room with a surgical robot and a radiation oncology center with three TomoTherapy® units, two CyberKnife® machines and two Halcyon® systems.
Amiens-Picardie University Hospital Center (CHU)
Amiens-Picardie CHU is a healthcare center of excellence with 4 missions:
- treating patients
- conducting research
- teaching
- managing medical demographics
Its resources include:
- 6,400 employees
- 16 training centers for the paramedical professions
- SimUSanté®, a healthcare simulation center with a global reputation
Amiens-Picardie University Hospital Center is also internationally recognized for its expertise in otolaryngology, neurosurgery, and pediatric, digestive, orthopedic and trauma surgery, and for its sophisticated medical equipment, including CyberKnife® technology, an interventional imaging procedure room, two robotic stereotactic procedure rooms, four MRI units (including one for research), and automated lab technology.
In addition, Amiens-Picardie CHU plays a leading role in a variety of nationwide projects, including:
- the CHIEF liver cancer research project
- the Facing Faces Institute, which will soon be a disfigurement research center with unrivalled expertise in facial reconstruction surgery
Close-up: SimUSanté® healthcare simulation center
SimUSanté® is dedicated to research and training, from introductory courses to lifelong continuing education. This 4,000-sq m complex includes:
- 51 simulation spaces spanning three floors, including simulated hospital environment and neighborhood, complete with a doctor’s office, pharmacy and home.
- 43 areas with audiovisual capture equipment linked to on-site or remote debriefing spaces
- Nearly 150 mannequins and simulators, including 12 high-fidelity units, and 15 image-processing consoles
- An online platform for learning and sharing ideas
- A space for working with the center’s partners in the business community
Find the talent you need
We’re a young, densely populated region of 6 million residents, with one-third of our population under 25. Hauts-de-France trains 9% of the students in France, and 10% of the country’s engineers.
Over 20,000 students are enrolled in healthcare training programs. Lille’s medical school is France’s largest medical research and training center for all disciplines combined, with 400 students graduating each year.
Leading educational institutions:
- Lille School of Pharmacy
- Lille School of Dentistry
- School of Health Engineering and Management
- Medical training and research unit at Université de Picardie Jules Verne
- Institute of Health Engineering
Eurasanté: A training plant for pharmaceutical sector employees
Eurasanté, the region’s center of excellence for health and nutrition, is building an 800-sq m training plant that will provide operational instruction to some 1,500 trainees a year. Under a partnership with the IMT Group (a training institute for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries), the training plant will replicate actual industrial production processes, using cutting-edge technology to give jobseekers and existing employees the skills they need to fill openings at pharmaceutical and biotech production sites in Hauts-de-France.
The training plant will begin operating in 2022.
Eurasanté: A high-profile location for your business in Hauts-de-France
The Eurasanté business park is a major showcase for the health industry in Hauts-de-France. Located on the edge of Lille University Hospital Center (CHU), this 300-ha site powers the region’s health ecosystem and is entirely dedicated to businesses in the health sector.
Key figures
- 170 health-sector businesses on site
- 3,400 employees
Leading players located in the park include Bayer France (HQ), Genfit, LFB, Diagast, Lesaffre and EFS
And the park’s proximity to the research laboratories at Lille CHU helps spur the emergence of cutting-edge businesses in the health sector. Eurasanté offers a unique growth opportunity for many companies, thanks to services provided by the world-class technology platforms on the campus.
Want to do business here? All the options are on the table:
- Create a satellite location for your company in this vibrant business hub
- Incubate your idea in Eurasanté’s Bio Incubator
- Rent offices or labs, mixed-use or commercial space
- Buy land or built space
Contact course