25. Januar 2018 MAGIA project kick-off meeting

The Kick-Off Meeting of the newly launched European Medtech Alliance dedicated to support SME Internationalisation was held in Colleretto Giacosa (Italy) on January 15-16th, 2018. The MAGIA project brings together four European leading Medtech and Health clusters – BioPmed (Piedmont), BioWin (Wallonia), Life Science Nord (Northern Germany) and Lyonbiopole (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) – willing to foster and support the Medtech SME’s internationalisation through the creation of a strong and sustainable Medtech Alliance. The overall goal of the project is to provide support to the European Medtech SMEs to go international on two global target markets and to make the European Medtech industry more visible at the international level. The global medtech sector can be a tough environment for European small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups. In Europe, this industry is mainly composed of SMEs, representing 95% of the sector, which face numerous obstacles. Among the main obstacles we can mention: competition with large groups while searching for collaboration with them, stronger regulatory environments, the need of integrating diverse technologies in their products, etc. In order to overcome these barriers, the Medtech Alliance aims to build a strong mutual understanding among the 4 clusters by identifying their assets and synergies in order to strengthen their collaboration. In this respect, 4 cluster study visits are planned in the next months, as well as working groups involving SMEs to assess their internationalisation needs and to identify the two most relevant target markets. To better address the foreign markets that will be selected, a series of intelligence and training actions dedicated to SMEs will be performed. Based on all these activities, the partners will have the necessary information to develop a common sound and realistic internationalisation strategy to provide added value for the SMEs as well as for the competitiveness of the Medtech sector in Europe. About MAGIA MAGIA is the European Strategic Cluster Partnerships - Going International (ESCPs-4i) on medical technologies labelled and co-funded by the European Commission, DG Growth and the Executive Agency for SMEs of the European Commission following the COSME call COS-CLUSINT-2016-03-01. MAGIA is a transnational cluster partnership that develops and implements a joint internationalisation strategy and supports SME internationalisation towards third countries beyond Europe. It aims to develop common actions and an implementation roadmap as part of a long-term cooperation agenda. Learn more on: https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/escp-profiles/magia Contacts Alberto Baldi, Project Coordinator: baldi@bioindustrypark.it
Ondine Freté, Responsible for Communication: ondine.frete@lyonbiopole.com About the partners BioPmed is the Italian innovation cluster dedicated to health care related products and services. Established in 2009 by Regione Piemonte in the framework of the ERDF funds, it is managed by Bioindustry Park Silvano Fumero, the local science & technology park specialised in the field. bioPmed brings together companies, research centers, universities and foundations, working together with a common vision and a shared strategic plan. It promotes research-industry interactions, stimulates innovation, supports valorisation and commercialisation of research results and internationalization. BioWin is the Health competitiveness cluster of Wallonia (Belgium), and its mission is to bring together stakeholders participating in innovative projects and/or education in the fields of Health biotechnology and medical technologies. The research and development supported by the cluster covers all healthcare-related fields. Life Science Nord strengthens the value chain in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein and has established itself as one of the leading life science networks in Europe. With a complete value chain the Life Science Nord cluster offers a unique infrastructure: practically oriented researchers and clinical staff cooperate closely with partners in the industry to help innovative products and technologies make the breakthrough. To support this structure, the cluster agency Life Science Nord Management GmbH and the Life Science Nord e.V. association work together and offer a variety of activities. Lyonbiopôle is the one-stop shop for healthcare innovation in Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Region, France. It aims to support the emergence and development of innovative technologies, products and services in 4 main strategic areas: human medicine, veterinary medicine, in vitro diagnostics, medical devices and medical technologies. Lyonbiopole represents a community of 200 members: 5 world-class leaders, 18 Research Centers including 3 Hospital University Centers and almost 160 SMEs.