Les Echos: Saving French biotech

Les Echos published an op-ed piece today by Antoine Papiernik, Sofinnova's chairman and managing partner, in which he warns of the danger the coronavirus pandemic poses for advances in biotech.

"Innovation in health care comes first and foremost from small biotech companies," Papiernik points out, noting that clinical trials of therapies not related to the pandemic had ground to a halt.

"Fragile biotech companies that have spent years and millions of euros developing innovative therapies will be trapped in the middle of the ford with no way to turn around, and many of them will sink," he continued. "The drugs they were developing will never see the light of day and the patients who were to benefit from them will die. The opportunity cost will be severe."

He called on governments to keep an eye on the long term as they deal with the crisis and to "do all they can so as not to lose the medicines of tomorrow."

Read the full article on the Les Echos website. [In French, paywall]