Innovation
As close as possible to the labs and clinical units at Imagine, and in connection with the technology transfer structures of Imagine’s founding members, the teams in the Innovation and Technology Transfer department are fully involved in several ways:
In setting up and monitoring innovation projects:
- Instructing on regulatory aspects,
- Identifying the best partners and defining the terms of partnership,
- Negotiating and implementing the required agreements,
- Seeking external funding if necessary,
- Monitoring projects throughout their milestones.
In the technology transfer stages of results:
- Detecting results that may be subject to technology transfer,
- Protecting these results in the most suitable way possible,
- Constantly defining and updating Imagine’s offer to industry partners
- Defining the most relevant terms of technology transfer - R&D partnership, licensing, start-up creation, etc.,
- Identifying private partners to develop and maximize results,
- Negotiating and implementing the required agreements.
The Department is made up of 20 professionals in business development, setting up and managing funding, clinical research and start-up creation.
Romain Marlange, Head of the Innovation and Technology Transfer Departement
Romain is head of the Innovation and Technology Transfer Departement of Imagine and Head of Operations of the Institut Carnot Imagine. He has over 15 years of experience in technology transfer and biomedical innovation at the crossroad between academic research, clinics and industry. Prior to joining Imagine Institute in 2012, he was in charge of business development and licensing for life sciences at CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission), a prominent player in technological research. Romain has a track record of numerous successful R&D partnerships and licensing agreements involving academia and industry. Romain graduated with his MSc in Engineering and his MSc in innovation management from AgroParisTech and Paris Dauphine University, respectively.
Hélène De Drweski, Office manager
Hélène is Office manager of Innovation & Technology Transfer Department. She worked in various fields of activity (defence, energy), and was also the assistant of the Department of European and International Affairs at Inserm Transfert during 6 years.
Nicolas Doulet , Industrial Partnership Manager
Doctor of biology (Pierre and Marie Curie University) and graduate in innovation management (MSc Masternova, Neoma / Agroparistech), Nicolas is a business manager - industrial partnerships in particular in the fields of immunology and hematology. He joined Imagine in 2014 after having been a project manager at France Biotech and Orphanet, then a business developer in a biotech start-up.
Marion Pilorge, Industrial Partnership Manager
Marion holds a PhD in genetics and neurosciences from the University Pierre et Marie Curie, as well as a master's degree in Innovation and Technology Management from the University Paris-Dauphine and Les Mines ParisTech. She is in charge since 2017 at Imagine of industrial partnerships and business development activities in the fields of nephrology, neuro-development, development diseases, and cardiology. Before joining Imagine, she worked for Alcimed, an Innovation and New Business consulting firm, specializing in innovative sectors including healthcare.
Nouara Lhocine, Grant officer
Nouara, PhD in Genetics, has been Grant Officer at Imagine from 2017, in charge of cross-cutting or structuring projects. She is involved in the coordination of projects and provides support in the search for funding. Nouara has 12 years of experience in the management of academic and industrial research projects. She studied host-microbe interaction at the CNRS and Institut Pasteur, and then worked for Amabiotics start-up company.
Zuzanna Andrzejewska, Grant officer
After obtaining a PhD from Paris Descartes University for her work on rare hereditary disorder, cystinosis, Zuzanna joined Pasteur Institute as postdoctoral fellow to study muscle stem cells during muscle regeneration. As Grant Officer since June 2019, she accompanies researchers form Imagine Institute in the identification of financing opportunities, preparation of their grant applications and management of granted projects.
Aurélie Laubier, DIM manager
After her PhD in biology and her master’s degree in Innovation Management and Business Development, Aurélie worked in a consulting firm specialized in Biotechnology as a consultant for startups and big pharmaceutical companies. In 2018, she joined Imagine Institute as project manager of the “DIM Thérapie génique” program coordinated by Pr Marina Cavazzana.
Lydie Viatte, Lab-in-labs and Bioentrepreneurs Manager
Lydie is in charge of the Bioentrepreneurs Launchpad program and of Lab-in-labs spaces allocated to industrial partners at Imagine Institute. Prior joining Imagine in 2019, Lydie worked as doctoral and postdoctoral fellow at Cochin Institute and EMBL, as scientific communication and intellectual property manager for Bioquanta and then as project manager at SATT IDF Innov for 6 years.
Salma Kotti, Clinical Research Director
Salma is Clinical Research Director. She is a member on the Institutional Review Board of the Necker Enfants-malades hospital. She is also a member of rare disease group of the Leem and of clinical research group of France Biotech. Salma is a doctor of pharmacy and has a PhD in genetic epidemiology and a master in quality assurance. She has over 12 years of experience in clinical research and in the pharmaceutical industry and quality assurance. She has a strong experience in managing clinical trials from conception to publication. Salma manages a team composed of clinical project managers, clinical research assistants, clinical research coordinators, clinical research technicians and mobile nurses.
Legal advice within Imagine's legal department, in support of the activities of the Innovation and Technology Transfer Department
Nathalie Wuylens, Head of the legal Department
After studying business law, intellectual property and contract law, and a doctorate in law, she has 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors, and particularly in the field of medical research, technology transfer and intellectual property. She joined the Imagine Institute in November 2018 to take over the Institute’s legal affairs, including those related to the innovation and Technology Transfer department.
Wilfried Loewen, legal counsel
After studying law with a specialization in contract law, he gained a short experience as a legal trainee in a large banking group. He joined Imagine Institute in November 2015, in charge of reviewing the contracts of the Innovation & Technology Transfer Department.
Matthieu le Tourneur, lawyer and data protection officer
Following law studies, he specialized in new technologies laws and health laws. Matthieu le Tourneur joins the law department at Imagine Institute in 2018. He participates to edition of biological material transfer agreements or non-disclosure agreements, and advices the clinical research department. He is also the data protection officer of the Imagine Institute.