Milan, July 10, 2024 – The MIND Milano Innovation District hosted the event "Territorial Ecosystems of Life Sciences and Regional Public Policies," promoted by the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, in collaboration with the Life Sciences Cluster Friuli Venezia Giulia, Federated Innovation @MIND, and AstraZeneca. The event aimed to highlight the role of territorial ecosystems in Life Sciences as drivers of growth and competitiveness through technological innovation. Introduced by Massimiliano Fedriga, President of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and President of the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces, alongside Attilio Fontana, President of the Lombardy Region, the event also provided an important opportunity for dialogue between institutions, industry, and research to discuss the strategies and public policies necessary to support the development of Life Sciences ecosystems in Italy.

The Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the promoter of the conference, has long believed in and invested in the Life Sciences sector as one of the pillars of its growth strategy. Friuli Venezia Giulia not only hosts top-tier universities and research centers in Life Sciences but also implements policies to attract innovative companies and startups.

“Since 2021, Friuli Venezia Giulia has invested in the Life Sciences Cluster, convinced that it represents a hub for the country's growth and competitiveness. To attract and retain talent, produce significant innovations, and support economic growth through exports, the Region has allocated approximately 30 million euros in the first three years. The cluster has mapped over 170 companies operating in the biomedical, biotechnology, medical informatics, and Active&Assisted Living sectors, 12 internationally recognized research organizations, 4 research hospitals including two public IRCCS (Burlo Garofolo in Trieste and the CRO in Aviano), two Health Companies, the Third Sector with 10,000 non-profit institutions, and three technology parks. With today's initiative, Friuli Venezia Giulia aims to share the characteristics of the Life Sciences ecosystem to demonstrate how a region can develop a successful model through synergy between various local and national actors”, said Massimiliano Fedriga, President of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and President of the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces.

Strategic investment in the Life Sciences sector is also shared by the Lombardy Region, which has become one of the leading hubs in Europe for Life Sciences, with a high number of scientific publications, patents, and innovative startups. Moreover, the Region has attracted investments from multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, creating a dynamic and competitive ecosystem.

“At MIND, we have created a space where the public and private sectors meet to establish a globally significant hub in Life Sciences, available to the entire country. In this way, we strengthen relationships between research centers, universities, institutions, and businesses to further boost innovation in healthcare offerings and the quality of life for our citizens,” said Attilio Fontana, President of the Lombardy Region.

At the heart of the strategy of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia is the Life Sciences Cluster Friuli Venezia Giulia, managed by the Alto Adriatico Technology Park. This cluster directs and promotes scientific research, innovation, contamination, and technology transfer in the field of life sciences in the Region. The Cluster plays a key role in building relationships among all stakeholders in Life Sciences: companies, the social and healthcare system, entrepreneurs, research institutes, researchers, institutional and political decision-makers, higher education systems, etc.

Alessia Rosolen, Regional Councillor for Labor, Training, Education, Research, University, and Family in the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, stated: “The time for self-referential research systems is over. Future challenges require more connections, enhancing the synergies of supply chains to develop strategies capable of guiding society through rapid changes with the aid of predictive analysis systems. The time for competitiveness among microsystems is also coming to an end: it is essential to overcome the isolation in which research entities have long lived to build broad networks capable of responding to the needs of the entire national system and a continuously evolving society. Lastly, it is necessary to construct educational pathways that enable those who choose them to acquire knowledge and skills, in strategic development sectors for Friuli Venezia Giulia and the entire country.”

The further development of the Cluster ecosystem, in which scientific and technological advances, digitalization, and the use of Big Data and artificial intelligence play a fundamental role, will allow the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region to chart a new growth trajectory. The innovative experience of the FVG Life Sciences Cluster, along with other territorial ecosystems, set the stage for the event held in the district that most exemplifies Italy's commitment to progress: MIND in Milan.

Stefano De Monte, Cluster Manager of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Life Sciences Cluster, explained: “The Life Sciences Cluster of Friuli Venezia Giulia, under the mandate of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, acts as an aggregator of sector stakeholders. Through the conception and implementation of a coherent set of initiatives and projects, it aims to stimulate the growth of the life sciences ecosystem, promoting sustainable and lasting development, and creating an environment conducive to innovation. In this ecosystem, universities and science parks play a crucial role, facilitating collaboration among research, industry, research entities, and the social and healthcare system. Initiatives like today's demonstrate the Cluster's commitment to attracting innovation to Friuli Venezia Giulia, enhancing the network among institutions, companies, and research centers to promote the development of new technological solutions aimed at improving human life.”

After the institutional greetings, the first in-depth roundtable, "The Industry's Perspective on Territorial Ecosystems," was moderated by Professor Ennio Tasciotti. It featured discussions among Marcello Cattani, President of Farmindustria; Nicola Barni, President of Confindustria Dispositivi Medici; Fabrizio Greco, President of Federchimica Assobiotec; Sergio Dompè, Vice-President of Assolombarda; and Massimiliano Boggetti, President of Alisei, on the potential and challenges that companies face when approaching territorial ecosystems, as well as strategies to improve and deepen synergies in this development context.

The panel was designed to explore and deepen the relationship between innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development, as companies are the engine of innovation in Life Sciences, developing new technologies, therapies, and products that can transform the diagnostic and treatment pathways to protect and improve human health. The speakers also focused on the future of financing mechanisms in Life Sciences and the prospects of public-private partnerships in this field.

Following the lecture "Healthcare as an Investment" by Professor Fabio Pammolli, Chairman of the Investment Committee of the European Commission, another moment of discussion, "Life Sciences Ecosystems", took place among Giuseppe Toffoli, Director of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology at IRCCS CRO Aviano, Member of AIFA's Scientific and Economic Committee; Paolo Gasparini, President of the Italian Society of Human Genetics, Italian Representative of the Committee for Human Medicinal Products EMA, and European Clinicians Representative of the Committee for Advanced Therapies EMA; Alessia Rosolen, Regional Councillor for Labor, Training, Education, University, Research, and Family in the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia; Valeria Fascione, Councillor for Research, Innovation, and Start-Up in the Campania Region; Paola Testori Coggi, Ambassador of Federated Innovation @MIND; Sara Falvo, Cluster Manager of Biopmed - Bioindustry Park Silvano Fumero; Stefano De Monte, Cluster Manager of the FVG Life Sciences Cluster; and Andrea Paolini, General Director of the Tuscany Life Sciences Foundation. The discussion focused on the crucial role of innovation ecosystems in promoting territorial competitiveness and growth, with particular attention to research in Life Sciences and entrepreneurship in the biomedical, pharmaceutical, medical device, and digital health sectors.

These themes form the backbone of a fundamental debate in a rapidly evolving world, where scientific research and technological innovation play a central role in the economic development of the territory and the improvement of the quality of life for patients and citizens. The panel analyzed innovation ecosystems to understand what they are and how they are organized, illustrating how essential public policies and government and local institution support are. To nurture innovation ecosystems, targeted policies are needed to promote their action, as research projects that can become entrepreneurial paths generating economic growth for the territory and the entire system arise from their activity.

The event also featured the biopharmaceutical multinational AstraZeneca and the Federated Innovation @MIND ecosystem. Both actors believe in a development model based on synergistic collaboration between sector realities and innovation and push for this model to be implemented, especially in Life Sciences.

Claudio Longo, President and CEO of AstraZeneca Italy, declared: “Following the memorandum of understanding signed a few months ago with the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, aimed at creating innovation in healthcare by strengthening collaboration between regional research networks and increasing the ability to respond to population needs through the development of new therapeutic approaches and solutions that improve patient interaction with the healthcare system, today's event once again underscores how strategic the synergy between Institutions and Industry is. Today's event is held in Italy's first innovation district, where AstraZeneca, the first private company to do so, decided to relocate its headquarters. Here, every day, we share complementary skills with other companies and the Research world to accelerate project development and bring innovative solutions to citizens. Public-private partnerships are an essential element for the future of healthcare systems, and our company is ready to make its resources and talents available to ensure access to care is increasingly early, equitable, and with a positive impact on sustainability.”

"We are very happy to have contributed to organizing a conference that highlights what we strongly believe in: territorial development through dialogue and collaboration between the public and private sectors, and the central role of innovation ecosystems, such as those related to Life Sciences. Federated Innovation, and MIND more generally, are examples of this. Both have established themselves as excellent innovation ecosystems, spanning various disciplines crucial for the future and acting as catalysts for a global network that orchestrates the creation of synergies among entities engaged in research and development, operating under the winning principle of 'collaborate to compete.' This model allows for rapid evolution and provides the necessary resources to support investment projects, creating opportunities for companies participating in the network and encouraging new memberships. Collaboration is at the heart of Federated Innovation, which, through its commitment, seeks to create a real bridge between the companies involved in the project and the public ecosystem, identifying various stakeholders, aligning strategies, proposing solutions, and promoting technology transfer. Today's discussion is precisely in this direction: the dialogue between the present institutions, technological hubs, and companies has validated the great value of the work we are all carrying out”, comments Fabrizio Grillo, President of Federated Innovation @MIND.

"At MIND, we welcome with great interest initiatives like these, of immense value, aimed at developing and consolidating territorial ecosystems, especially in strategic areas such as Life Sciences. MIND offers a concrete model, managed by Arexpo, of what an innovation ecosystem is: public management, research, and higher education that collaborate to attract capital and talent. With the establishment of the FITT foundation, which focuses on technology transfer, we have also decided to address another fundamental aspect of the ecosystem, which is competitiveness. These events are an essential opportunity for promotion and sharing", concluded Mauro Capitanio, Commercial Director, Programming, and Sustainability at Arexpo S.p.A.