26 INNOVATIONS 27 The magazine of the SOLEIL Synchrotron_N°26 January 2017

IN BRIEF C AN INDUSTRIAL CONSULTANCY 3 COMMITTEE AT LBS : SOLEIL 3 The Comité a winning partnership d’Orientations Stratégiques pour in the conception of innovative l’Industrie à SOLEIL (Strategic Industrial medicines for the future Consultancy Committee at SOLEIL Bringing together the companies and the synchrotron facility [COSIS]) will start in an efficient and sustainable way: this has been the stated operations at the end of 2016. A consultative ambition of SOLEIL since its start of operation in January 2008. structure advising the The last decisive advance in this approach was embodied by Director General of SOLEIL, COSIS brings the inauguration of the Laboratoire de Biologie Structurale together personalities (Structural Biology Laboratory) SERVIER at SOLEIL (LBS3) on the from companies representative of 23 June 2016. the main SOLEIL application markets (pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, 3 BS is the result of a partnership between 3 main (agriculture-food, cosmetics, aerospace, materials). players in French research and development in the cultural heritage) or region Its main purpose medical field: (administrative Grand Est L is to express the region of ). requirements and 1 . Servier Group, the first independent French expectations of pharmaceutical laboratory, which undertakes industrial With a surface area industry in the short research in 5 major therapeutic areas (cardiology, of 170m2, the LBS3 is a oncology, metabolic disorders, neuropsychiatry and laboratory intended and medium terms in rheumatology), expressly for structural respect of the provided and functional studies synchrotron research 2 . The SME NovAlix (90 staff), a company undertaking of therapeutic target services. contract research on behalf of the pharmaceutical molecules (proteins). These sector, having a high level of expertise in chemistry and studies are led by a team C μPPI AND biophysics, of 5 researchers from the NANOSATELLITES NovAlix company, who SOLEIL is involved in the 3 . Synchrotron SOLEIL, a French Very Large Scale likewise benefit from the Visit of the PROXIMA-2A beamline, during the inauguration of the LBS3, on the 23 June 2016. Standing, in the µPPI project aimed at Research Infrastructure, centre for research and offices made available by SOLEIL in the synchrotron foreground, from left to right: Michel Bournat, Vice-President of the Conseil Départemental of Essonne and miniaturising the services for research and industry for studies into live building; at the heart of LBS3, these researchers perform President of the Plateau de urban community, Olivier Laureau, President of Servier, Maud Olivier, electronic thrusters for matter and advanced materials. the various steps of production, purification and Member of Parliament for Essonne, Stephan Jenn, President of NovAliX, and Christophe Gegout, Assistant a low mass class of crystallisation of proteins, before the possible transfer Managing Director of CEA, following the explanations given, on his computer screen, by the PROXIMA-2A satellites. This project, This partnership, effective since April 2015, has a of the crystals to the bio-crystallography beamlines manager, William Shepard (seated, back to camera). Also present, in the background: Jean Daillant, undertaken by an renewable duration of 5 years and relates to the PROXIMA-1 and PROXIMA-2A of SOLEIL for the 3D Stéphanie Hustache, Andrew Thompson, respectively Director General, Head of the Communications and Life engineer of the siting of a commercial laboratory in the synchrotron determination of the structure of these proteins. Sciences Director of SOLEIL, and Gabriel Chardin, President of the Very Large Scale Research Infrastructures University of Versailles building of SOLEIL, as close as possible to its two bio- comity at CNRS. Saint-Quentin-en- crystallography beamlines. The three partners were already involved in bilateral Yvelines, is also the collaboration programmes. Servier and NovAlix responsibility of two Servier is the first commercial group to benefit from have been working together for twelve years, the two tripartite partnership embodies the scientific E Contact: other technical facilities made available by a French synchrotron companies having been independently using the bio- and technological complementarity between [email protected] partners, CNRS and radiation centre, as part of a unique integrated crystallography beamlines of SOLEIL, since 2008 and the three players and their shared willingness to Ecole Polytechnique, technology platform which supplements the open 2011 respectively, while SOLEIL and Servier have been advance medical research and reinforce the and has a financial position of France in international competition. platforms already available at SOLEIL, both by sector collaborating scientifically since 2011. The strengthened backer, SATT - Saclay, which selected the project at the end of 2015 within the framework of its call for incubator projects.