At the heart of healthcare ecosystems, SATTs play a key role in driving innovation in the hospital sector, with a view to better responding to public health challenges and contributing to the creation of the hospital of tomorrow. With the government's mission to revamp biomedical research due to report its findings shortly, the SATT Network confirms its commitment to fostering innovation in healthcare and shares the ambition to strengthen research in order to maintain France's leadership and international appeal.
SATTs working alongside university hospitals in their regions
At the heart of local innovation networks in their respective regions, the 13 Technology Transfer Acceleration Companies (SATT)promote daily networking between universities and research institutions and the economic and industrial worlds, with a view to fostering the emergence and deployment of innovative solutions that meet the needs of patients and healthcare professionals. At the heart of this dynamic, the partnerships developed by the SATTs with University Hospitals (CHUs) have multiplied across the regions, serving to complement support actions for diagnostic and therapeutic innovations from academic and business players.
For example, in Occitanie, Toulouse Tech Transfer has had a framework agreement in place with Toulouse University Hospital since 2016 to structure support across the entire technology transfer and commercialization chain, and has actively participated in the creation of Innov Pôle Santé (IPS), a platform for accelerating innovation in healthcare, developed in collaboration with the hospital's long-standing partners. Following the same model, SATT Nord signed a partnership with Lille University Hospital in 2022 as part of a drive to strengthen the economic and social impact of research results for the benefit of patients, as evidenced by the fruitful collaboration with the startup MDoloris Medical in the field of pain control and management. In some cases, the university hospital participates directly in the capital of the SATT, such as the agreement formalizing the entry of the Hospices Civils de Lyon into the capital of PULSALYS in early 2024, with a view to intensifying the valorization of practitioners' scientific discoveries and amplifying their transfer within innovative projects, or the entry into the capital of SATT AxLR by the university hospital and the Montpellier Cancer Institute.
Connecting stakeholders at the heart of healthcare ecosystems
This unifying role played by SATTs in promoting healthcare innovation is also confirmed bytheir numerous collaborations with competitiveness clusters, clusters, and consortiums, and their support for research teams and companies at the heart of local communities.
Examples include SATT Erganeo's contribution to the Medicen competitiveness cluster as a member of the board of directors, the partnership between SATT Nord and the Eurasanté incubator, which brings together 200 companies on the Lille university hospital campus to create innovative companies in the health sector, and the strong involvement of PULSALYS in the PLATINES (PLATeforme INnovation Environnement et Santé) consortium coordinated by HCL, recently labeled a "third place for experimentation" in digital health, and within the IMPULSE University Innovation Cluster (PUI), both funded under France 2030. Since 2023, SATT Conectus has been organizing "Les belles rencontres de l'innovation santé" (Great Encounters in Healthcare Innovation) in partnership with the BioValley France competitiveness cluster, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Strasbourg, and the University Hospitals of Strasbourg with a view to promoting cooperation between researchers and companies working at the heart of healthcare innovation.
SATTs are also actively involved in national acceleration strategies (SNA), mechanisms developed as part of the "Maturation/Pre-maturation" call for projects launched by the French government as part of France 2030. Three consortia dedicated to health are thus supported by SATTs and Inserm Transfert with the participation of the university hospital network: CATRIEM, focused on the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases and nuclear, radiological, biological, and chemical threats, led by PULSALYS; COMS@N, whose objective is to position France as a leader in digital health; and COMBIO, dedicated to the bioproduction of innovative therapies, both supported by SATT Sud Est.
Supporting innovation for a hospital of the future
Since their creation in 2012,SATTs have supported the development of numerous disruptive therapeutic solutions, large-scale medical devices, and digital health technologies. This represents nearly 45% of the 800 startups propelled by SATTs to date. At the heart of each project is the central link with regional players, whether it involves supporting an innovation developed by a hospital, conducting clinical studies prior to the market launch of therapeutic innovations, or creating startups with teams built around the expertise of healthcare professionals.
Among these ambitious projects, some are finding practical application in the hospital of tomorrow:
Supported by SATT Ouest Valorisation in the development of its technology, the MedTech startup IVANAE Médical is developing a non-invasive, contactless respiratory function monitoring device that aims to improve patient care in hospitals, particularly in intensive care, emergency, and anesthesia departments.
Founded in November 2023, the startup Sirius NeoSight, incubated by PULSALYS, is developing an innovation based on a patented molecule capable of identifying and predicting the aggressiveness of tumor cells and thus guiding the choice of therapeutic treatments in oncology. As part of this project, the Hospices Civils de Lyon are working closely with the startup to conduct clinical trials.
The startup Sysark,supported by SATT Sayens, offers robotic technology that reduces the risk of exposure to radioactivity for practitioners and patients during medical imaging examinations. Following clinical trials at Nancy University Hospital, the robot has been approved for marketing and is currently being rolled out in healthcare facilities.
The startup Pixacare, powered by SATT Conectus, offers solutions for managing medical photos and monitoring wounds via a smartphone app. This medical device is now deployed in more than 25 hospitals and clinics in France and internationally, including the Rouen, Lille, and Brest University Hospitals, the Strasbourg University Hospitals, and the Gustave Roussy Institute.
Finally, the startup Sit Up, supported by Aquitaine Science Transfert, offers the first medical bed with a verticalization function that helps patients get up safely, improving the independence of dependent, mobility-impaired, injured, or elderly people. The device was developed and validated with partner doctors in nursing homes and hospitals.
These are just a few examples that highlightthe impact of SATTs, alongside university hospitals, universities, and ONRs, in accelerating the transfer of innovations for the benefit of patients and the healthcare system, and their successful integration into their regional ecosystems. Acting as local interfaces with networks of stakeholders, institutions, and research teams, which they help to connect and coordinate, SATTs provide daily support for the deployment of solutions that actively contribute to the creation of the hospital of the future.