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WPCNR CONNECTIONS. From Westchester Biotech Project.(EDITED) February 14, 2019:

Joanne Gere, Executive Director of the Westchester Biotech Project, announced Tuesday that the Project has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Dr. Philippe Salphati, President and CEO of AYA Consulting (Tefen Group), to create Westchester Biotech Project Europe from his base in southern France, near Nice.

“With the recent lease signing for the North 60 project, Westchester County is now positioned to grow as a magnet for the international biotech community,” Ms. Gere noted. “This is a perfect moment to strengthen international ties, and leverage lessons learned from emerging discovery-to-commercialization models. By building partnerships that endure, we can realize profound biomedical progress, and even cures.”

One of those partnerships wll be Sophia Antipolis, a 6,000-acre technology campus near Nice. Known as the “French Palo Alto,” Sophia Antipolis is regarded as an research and technology start-up hub, with 2,500 companies, 4,500 researchers and 5,500 students from more than 64 countries located there.  Sophia Antipolis specializes in computing, electronics, pharmacology and biotechnology.

Based in White Plains, the Westchester Biotech Project (WBP) is a nonprofit organization that brings together researchers, engineers, physicians, data scientists, and life science professionals to facilitate medical and scientific breakthroughs. As it expands, WBP is playing a key role in developing Westchester County as a life science hub.

Said Ms. Gere, “This collaboration positions the organization to expand its reach by more deeply engaging with international scientists and innovation centers.” She noted that the MOU came at just the right time.

“After many discussions and seeing firsthand the fine work produced by the Westchester Biotech Project, we believe this is the beginning of an incredible partnership,” Dr. Salphati said. “This relationship will bring together investors and industry experts from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean to accelerate market access for solutions addressing unmet life-threatening medical needs.”

Dr. Salphati has over 25 years of global leadership experience in major life science companies, including Sanofi, which brought him to Rye for several years. He holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the School of Pharmacy, Paris XI, and an MBA from the International University of America in San Francisco.

Formed in 2017, the Westchester Biotech Project regularly convenes a growing network of scientists and medical researchers, supporting Westchester’s emerging biotechnology industry. To stimulate interaction among regional and international thought leaders, WBP convenes programs that draw scholars and scientists from North America and beyond, including a Rare Disease Symposium, Roundtables with leading experts on intellectual property, translating data science, artificial intelligence, and other issues affecting the industry.

“The pace of innovation is accelerating at such a rapid speed,” said Michael Welling, co-founder of the Westchester Biotech Project. “We believe this is the right forum to make incredible advances throughout the world. We couldn’t be more pleased to be working with our friends in Europe on this partnership.”

Learn more at www.westchesterbiotechproject.org.