OTTLIV announces winners of first Innovation Trophies from AP-HP research

3 July 2012

OTTLIV, the technology transfer arm of one of Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris (AP-HP), has announced the results of the first “Innovation Trophies” for the hospitals' researchers.

Designed to mark outstanding promise resulting from research within AP-HP, the Trophies will be awarded annually to one patent holder and one start-up. The first awards were made during the ninth APinnov, the technology transfer conference.

The “Promising Patent” award went to Antoine Carpentier, Hopital Avicenne, for his research on cerebral tumours. The “Promising Start-up” Trophy was awarded to his brother, Alexandre Carpentier, from the Hopital Salpetriere, founder of Carthera, a developer of therapeutic ultrasound devices and intra-articular ultrasound implants.

The awards were organized jointly between AP-HP, CDC Entreprises, an arm of the French government’s Caisse des Depots, investing in more than 3,000 small and medium companies in France, and INPI, France’s intellectual property and patent office.

AP-HP brings together 37 Paris hospitals, including university and teaching establishments, and enjoys close associations with world-famous bodies such as Inserm, the CNRS, the Institut Curie, the Institut Gustav Roussy, the Institut Pasteur, and France’s nuclear energy agency (CEA).

Selection process

Originally, 45 companies were considered for the “Promising Start-up” award. Ten made the shortlist, of which three were nominated, including Carthera, BLK Pharma (new therapies for attention deficit disorder), founded by Eric Konofal from the Hopital Robert Debre, and Profilome (in vitro detection of colorectal cancer using genetic markers), created by Iradj Sobhani, Hôpital Henri Mondor.

From 115 patents considered, 10 were short-listed and three nominated including Antoine Carpentier, Jacques Hugon from Hopital Lariboisiere (new marker for Alzheimer’s) and Jean-Francois Emile, Hopital Ambroise Pare (evaluation of malignancy and efficacy prediction for tumor therapy).

The APinnov annual business convention aims to showcase AP-HP-originated innovations and to encourage the transfer of medical technology so as to continue improvement in the quality of hospital care. The 2012 APinnov brought together 480 participants, including many from industry and support organizations (investors, incubators, financiers etc). Some 80 business meetings were arranged.

“Now we have established these Innovation Trophies, we want to give all the encouragement we can to entrepreneurs and project leaders from AP-HP so as to create a new generation of viable enterprises that will stay the course,” said Florence Ghrenassia, director of OTTLIV. “The awards will raise their profile and help generate support from a variety of sources including early stage financing and intellectual property advice, all of which will help them deploy their talents and, we hope, enjoy a flourishing business.”

“The variety of innovations and patents coming out of AP-HP is unbelievable,” said Annick Schwebig, president of the Innovation Trophies jury. “It is a highly diversified source of new tools and treatments for future patients.”

The jury was made up of seven experts from different domains. Schwebig has a distinguished career in healthcare including current positions as chairperson of Actelion, representative of the Paris chamber of commerce and industry, president of the biotech group at LEEM (France’s medical industry association), and general secretary of ARIIS, an association for health research.

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