In order to foster national economic diversification and to sustainably strengthen the economy of Luxembourg, the Government has identified Health Sciences and Technologies as key innovation drivers able to reinforce the country’s competitiveness in a global market while benefiting the population through an innovative healthcare system.
By capitalising on the core competences present not only in the public research sector but also in several key private companies, a National Action Plan
was developed in 2007 to position the country as an attractive and recognised territory for Research, Development and Innovation (RDI), as well as business activities related to Molecular Diagnostics
, the main pillar of Personalised Medicine
. Personalised medicine is based on the exploitation, through medical care, of the knowledge on a genetic basis of health and disease brought on by the sequencing of the human genome. This innovative medical approach aims to provide any individual with the right diagnosis and treatment at the right time and at the right cost.
Boosting excellence - Strategic Partnership Initiative
A Strategic Partnership Initiative
between the Public Research Organisations of Luxembourg, namely the CRP Gabriel Lippmann, CRP Henri Tudor, CRP-Santé and the University of Luxembourg, and three world-renowned US Institutions was launched in 2008 with the aim of boosting the development in Luxembourg as a centre of excellence in the area of Molecular Medicine. This Initiative has subsequently resulted in the creation of two key infrastructures (IBBL, LCSB)
and the implementation of one demonstration project on lung cancer
.
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)
Catalysing partnerships - Personalised Medicine Consortium
Both IBBL and LCSB and the lung cancer demonstration project
already act as three strong complementary pillars to catalyse collaborations within the Luxembourg research community composed of more than 300 researchers
divided into 6 public and one private entities.
The
Public stakeholders involved in the Strategic Partnership Initiative are now formally associated within a Personalised Medicine Consortium (PMC)
that focuses on four main priorities: cancer (lung, breast and colon), Parkinson’s disease, Type II diabetes and a normal population cohort.
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Networking for growth - Luxembourg BioHealth Cluster
The reinforced scientific excellence of Public Research Organisations in Luxembourg and the Personalised Medicine Consortium are both bottom-up driving forces that contribute to the progressive generation of opportunities for existing local private actors, such as companies (mainly SMEs) with RDI capabilities that are active in the biotechnology, bioinformatics, telemedicine and medical devices domains. A young emerging biocluster, the Luxembourg BioHealth Cluster
, undertakes networking activities that reinforce these links and favour connectivity of the Luxembourg research community with other key actors of the value chain that are present in the national ecosystem. It also contributes to an increased international visibility and attractiveness of Cluster actors with the aim of positioning Luxembourg as an attractive prime location in Europe for Healthcare Biotech RDI activities and businesses.
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