BioCentury
ARTICLE | Politics, Policy & Law

Expanding the French model

December 4, 2006 8:00 AM UTC

French efforts to put state-backed capital into innovator companies look to be gaining legs, as the European Commission has opened the door for funding schemes that could be copied in other EU countries.

Last month, the Commission adopted the Community Framework for State Aid for Research and Development and Innovation. Among other things, the Framework legitimizes state aid for Young Innovative Companies (YICs) along the lines originally proposed by lobbying organization France Biotech and adopted by France in 2004 and by Belgium in 2006. ...