The French life sciences industry continued to perform strongly in 2023, compared to other European countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Biotechnology companies make up 40% of the life sciences sector in France, with nearly half of these engaged in R&D services.
Within the biotech – therapeutics and diagnostics sector, top key activities are small molecule development (17%), followed by immunotherapy (12%), and antibody research (11%). Oncology remains the leading indication for biotech assets in clinical development. Preclinical development is a particularly active phase in France, with nearly 500 assets available for future collaborations.
Despite a successful 2022 and a strong start in the first half of 2023, venture financing for French life sciences companies slowed down in the latter half of the year. French companies managed to raise only half of the previous year’s funding, securing USD 1.2 billion in 2023 compared to USD 2.3 billion in 2022. Nevertheless, the number of funding rounds remained steady, indicating a shift towards smaller investment sizes. Amolyt Pharma achieved the largest funding round of the year, raising USD 138 million in a Series C.
For more insights, download the full report below. Many thanks to our partner, Alliance Innovation Santé Nouvelle-Aquitaine (ALLIS-NA), for their support in preparing this report.