The restructuring of pharmaceutical supply chains, driven by current geopolitical tensions and lessons learned from the Covid-19 crisis, is pushing ecosystems to strengthen their bioproduction capacities. During a panel organized by France Biolead, industry players and institutional representatives outlined the contours of a closer relationship between the two countries, focusing on issues of sovereignty, competitiveness, and preparedness for health crises.
Bioproduction is more than ever becoming a strategic issue. Amid trade tensions, industrial rivalries, and ongoing fragility in supply chains, securing production capacities has once again become a priority for both states and industry players. “Geopolitical tensions between the United States, China, and Europe are forcing us to rethink our supply chains, strengthen their resilience, and rebalance industrial investments according to our current and future markets,” notes Philippe Charreau, Vice President Manufacturing & Supply France at Sanofi, during the France Biolead panel held on Friday, May 29 as part of the National Day of Biopharmaceutical Bioproduction (JNBB). This adaptation is also accompanied by a profound transformation of product portfolios. At Sanofi, the shift toward biotechnology and specialty medicines has led to several billion euros in investments in industrial capacity. Philippe Charreau highlighted the “factory of the future” Modulus in Neuville-sur-Saône (Rhône), capable of producing multiple biomedicines in parallel and being rapidly reconfigured. “Agility is becoming a competitive advantage,” he summarizes.
France–Canada: complementarities to be realized
In this context, Canada is seeking to leverage its strengths to position itself as a reliable partner in a more unstable international environment. Ritu Banerjee, acting head of Canada’s health emergency preparedness agency, recalls that the country’s recent industrial policy structuring is a direct response to the Covid-19 experience: “national security is very important for our government.” Canada aims to strengthen its life sciences sector and better prepare for future crises, while calling for concrete joint measures with France.
This Canadian momentum builds on an already substantial ecosystem. BIOTECanada brings together 230 members within a national network of more than 1,100 companies, ranging from startups to multinational groups. “A very dynamic and growing sector,” according to its president Wendy Zatylny, with particularly strong hubs in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton/Calgary (Alberta), and Montreal, especially around vaccines and mRNA technologies.
While the French and Canadian contexts differ, their concerns converge. In France, efforts to structure the sector have also accelerated in the wake of the pandemic. According to Anne Jouvenceau, coordinator of the “Biotherapy and bioproduction of innovative therapies” acceleration strategy at the French Health Innovation Agency (AIS), created in 2022, “the goal is to make stakeholders work together and ensure coherent thinking between research, healthcare, and industry.” France today counts “nearly 580 biomedicines under development” and around “250 public and private stakeholders involved.”
Health sovereignty and scaling up
On both sides of the Atlantic, the same bottleneck remains: transforming scientific excellence into lasting industrial capacity. “All the ingredients are there, but we still lack the ability to turn our research into commercial companies,” said Mark Lievonen, member of the expert advisory board of Health Emergency Readiness Canada (HERC) and former president of Sanofi Pasteur. Speakers called for creating a “continuum between innovation, development, and industrialization,” relying on high-quality academic research, scaling up technological platforms, securing supply chains, and strengthening technology transfer.
Laurent Lafferrère, CEO of France Biolead, welcomed this willingness to “work together, break down silos between research, innovation, and industry, and build bridges.” A dynamic already underway at the CEA, as highlighted by Christophe Junot, director of the Joliot Institute at CEA and co-leader of the PEPR Biotherapies and Bioproduction program, and Nadège Nief, deputy director of the health department at CEA-Leti. She cited the Calipso project, launched in 2021, which integrates miniaturized sensors, AI, and simulation tools to optimize bioprocesses and has led to the creation of the startup Calipso Sensors and the deployment of tools in Sanofi factories.
Trina Racine, Director of Vaccine Development at VIDO (Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization) at the University of Saskatchewan, detailed her organization’s role in advancing vaccine candidates from laboratory processes to early clinical stages. “This approach aims to integrate production constraints into innovation from the outset: adjuvant cost, analytical robustness, industrial scalability.”
What remains is to turn this convergence of interests into an operational roadmap. Cooperation will need to translate into concrete projects: shared platforms, technology transfers, co-development initiatives, and collaborations in medical countermeasures.