User:Pplc/Biopole

Biopôle is a Swiss science park and incubator destined to host companies whose main activity is in the field of life sciences. Located in Épalinges, near Lausanne, it belongs to the "Romandy hub" of the Swiss Innovation Park. The institution offers space for industrial research and development or administrative use: while it is open to all therapeutic areas, its main focus is on developing innovative solutions in the fields of oncology, immunology, nutritional health and personalised medicine. Several start-up companies as well as multinational and academic research laboratories are located on site.

Biopôle's 134,000 m2 of constructed and expanding premises are close to the University Hospital, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and University of Lausanne. It is 97.5% owned by the Canton of Vaud, who declared it is as "hyperstrategic".

Park
Biopôle SA was established in 2004 as a limited company by the public authorities of the Canton of Vaud, who remain the major shareholders. In November 2005, the company presented its development plan for the site: work on the first Biopôle building began in 2007, and at the end of 2008 the first tenants moved in. The park went through a major upheaval in 2013 before electing a new management and starting new ventures and partnerships. In 2015 it announced a major investment from the Ludwig Cancer Research aimed at increasing its focus on immunotherapy, with a new building scheduled for completion in 2018.

As one of the six components of Park Network West EPFL (or "Romandy hub") the park regroups members from academia, SMEs, as well as multinational companies with a focus on life sciences. As owner of the land, Biopôle commissions private investors to construct buildings for office and laboratory space, and for which they then own a right of use over an 80-year period: the rent, therefore, is paid to these investors while Biopôle provides dedicated support services (human resources, accounting, etc.) to the tenants.

Biopôle is a key component of the Swiss Health Valley, with the canton of Vaud being home to 25% of all Swiss life sciences workers and continuously ranking at the top nationally for startup fundraising : in 2015, four of the top five investments totals were raised by life science companies.

Notable companies on site
The Park is composed of several zones covering both administrative and research activities: the core administrative buildings, as well as research laboratories and office buildings. About 50 different companies and startups are established on site.
 * Aquatis
 * CSS
 * Incyte
 * Ludwig Cancer Research
 * Nestlé Health Sciences
 * UBS
 * Vaudoise assurances

Scientific and university partners

 * ISREC
 * Lausanne University Hospital
 * Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne
 * Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
 * University of Lausanne