Looking to consolidate cooperation with India in the health and pharmaceutical sectors, a French delegation representing 15 companies mainly from five healthcare clusters is visiting India later this month to scout for partners.

The delegation, being organised by UBIFRANCE --the agency for international business development under the supervision of the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry--in collaboration with the Economic Department of the French Embassy, will try to get better understanding of the biotechnology sector in particular and would look for research partners among public and private companies and organisations.

The five clusters, chosen from diverse regions in France, are Medicen Santé (Paris), Lyon Bio Pôle (Rhône Alpes), Innovation Thérapeutiques (Alsace), Biothérapies (Pays de la Loire) and Orphême (Languedoc Rousillon, Provence -Alpes-Côte d'Azur).

Some of the prominent companies scouting for Indian partners are Pierre Fabre, a specialist in dermo-cosmetics and oncology, Lesaffre International group, a world leader in yeast extract products for food and biopharmaceutical industry, Voisin Consulting, a company having an expertise in design and implementation of innovative regulatory strategies, and Vivalis, with innovative technologies in the area of vaccines.

Pierre Fabre has been active in India for some years now, while Vivalis is due to open an office in Bangalore this month itself. Some of the companies would also be looking for partners for technology transfers, said a spokesman of the Consulate General of France.

The French contingent will also attend the Bangalore Bio 2008, from April 24 to 26, where there will be a seminar on `fast track R&D partnering with France' and a French pavilion to showcase the latest technology and products. The clusters will present their ongoing research projects on the topics of "Colon & Breast Cancer Bio Markers", "Technology Boosting Immunity", "Molecular & Cellular Biotyping" and "Transluminal Surgery".

Other participating companies include independent firms like Clean Cells, Clestra Cleanroom, CIT, Eurofins-ADME Bioanalyses, Imaxio, Incell Art, SACI-CFPA and Solabia as well as Regional Development Organisations like Paris Development (Paris), Aderly (Lyon) and Alsace Biovalley (Alsace Region).