Invest more at all levels, adopt a culture of innovation, capitalize on experiences, break down silos and favor a global vision: the speakers of the second round table of the Assises de l’Avenir web-conference proposed avenues to improve the attractiveness of France and the growth prospects of its healthtech companies.
Investing in the health industry rather than considering it as a cost: a reversal of vision for which Didier Veron has always campaigned. Speaker at the 2nd round table of the Assises de l’Avenir web-conference, co-organized by Pharmaceuticals and the consulting firm Asterès, the president of G5 Santé denounces the “accounting vision” which has prevailed until then, and the level of regulation on prices which, according to him, impacts the competitiveness of French companies. He pleads for a “massive increase” in the envelope of health products within the framework of the ONDAM, which must become multiannual. An interministerial policy is necessary, including in particular research efforts. “All manufacturers need to work with public research: the State must provide the means”, insists Didier Veron. The European agency HERA, inspired by the American BARDA, is one of the responses to this challenge, but “it must be implemented quickly, with massive financial resources”.
The challenge of financing growth
As for medical devices, “the sector suffers from an absence of a major national strategy, regrets Sacha Loiseau, president and founder of Mauna Kea Technologies and vice-president of MedTech in France. Unlike Defense, for example, the State is not a major contractor in this area, and our companies cannot rely on public demand. ”Difficulties in accessing the French market force companies to internationalize very early on, which requires a lot of capital… difficult to find in France! “The system, today not very favorable to the acceptance of innovation, must be ready to take measured risks, not on the health of the patients but on the financial level, risks which can be shared. “
France has made great progress on creation and seed funding. Today “95% of the French medtech fabric is made up of TPE! »Notes Pierre Moustial, founding partner of Lauxera Capital Partners. According to him, investors are extremely cautious about financing growth and development capital, a stage where EBITDA is still negative. “We do not have funds in France that are really specialized in the growth of medtech, there may be five in Europe when there would be room for 50! “. Any company in the sector with global ambitions must target the American market, “which represents 80% of the world market”, or “we lack leaders with this experience on the other side of the Atlantic”.
Integrate innovations into the ecosystem
In the field of digital health, the problem stems from the “lack of a global vision of the contractors over the entire value chain”, deplores Chahra Louafi, director of the Autonomous Patient Investment Fund of Bpifrance. The vision of the evaluation can also diverge. “You have to be able to de-silot early enough, create a network between entrepreneurs and their clients, and address the market with a strong value proposition. One difficulty is that investors are reluctant to “clear up” and prefer to reproduce patterns and rely on benchmarks that have already been tested; however, the prospects for reimbursement of digital health tools are still extremely vague. These innovations should not be considered in isolation from their environment, in particular hospitals, but on the contrary be integrated.
This global vision can exist at the level of the territories. “We take a double look at health, with the innovation dimension and the preservation dimension of the determinants of health,” underlines Carole Doucet, head of the health and silver economy service of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council. And to attract healthcare companies, regions must offer them the best ecosystem to flourish.
Julie Wierzbicki
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