Foundation stone laid for the joint ANSES-ANSM building in Lyon-Gerland
On 19 October, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) and the French Health Products Safety Agency (ANSM) officially launched the construction of their future shared building in Lyon, with the symbolic laying of the foundation stone.
The future building will house ANSES's Lyon Laboratory and part of the ANSM's Laboratory Controls Division. In line with the "One Health" approach, the new building will combine cutting-edge technological facilities with laboratories ensuring a high level of biosafety in human, animal and plant health, as well as office space. The 8300 m2 building will house 150 permanent staff, of which 80 are from ANSES and 70 from the ANSM. It will also host doctoral and master's students, bringing the total number of work stations to 180. The building is scheduled to be delivered in 2024, while completion of the overall project, including the planting of a mini-forest, is set for 2025.
Located at the heart of a community dedicated to health
The construction of this shared building reinforces the presence of the two health agencies at the heart of the Lyon-Gerland Biodistrict, where they have forged numerous partnerships. Dedicated to health and infectious diseases, this site hosts a number of internationally renowned public and private institutions.
The Lyon-Gerland Biodistrict
With more than 50 major players on the same site, the Lyon-Gerland Biodistrict is now the epicentre of life sciences in Lyon and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is a place to live, a research and innovation campus, and a business district, bringing together major groups, technical and industrial establishments, and innovative start-ups in a high-tech scientific and academic environment. The Lyon-Gerland Biodistrict is supported by the City of Lyon, with an ambition to position Lyon among the world's top 10 major biotechnology and healthcare sites, helped more than 5000 professionals in the sector who work here on a daily basis.
"The ANSM teams and I are proud to be supporting this project dedicated to the "One Health" approach, serving public health. It is unprecedented and historic for our two agencies. This building, shared by our laboratories, will enable us to create synergies that will benefit both our institutions by encouraging exchanges between our laboratory teams and forging links between human, animal and plant health."
Christelle Ratignier-Carbonneil, Director General of the ANSM
"As a pioneer of a decompartmentalised vision of health, ANSES is delighted to see this joint building project with the ANSM become a reality, as it will foster the emergence of shared projects and cultures for the benefit of universal health. By investing in this new building, ANSES is demonstrating its desire to plan for the long term in Lyon-Gerland, with new work resources and varied scientific activities, thereby securing a presence that dates back more than 50 years."
Roger Genet, Director General of ANSES
"The construction work we are starting today is important for the local area. The building that will house the ANSES and ANSM teams is exemplary in terms of vegetation, with the inclusion of a mini-forest that will bring a welcome "urban cool island" effect to the Lyon-Gerland Biodistrict. This local joining of forces of the two agencies confirms the importance of the holistic health approach (One Health), which we fully share and support through the HUB VPH (Lyon veterinary public health initiative), of which the City of Lyon is a member, as well as the French Biocluster project for innovation in infectiology, proposed under the "Innovation Santé 2030" national strategic plan, and in which all the stakeholders in the metropolitan health ecosystem are actively involved."
Bruno Bernard, President of the Métropole de Lyon
"Considering health with a new approach that takes account of the interactions between human, animal and environmental health is a strategy we wish to continue supporting here in Lyon. The construction of a future building in Lyon-Gerland, bringing together two health institutions (ANSES and ANSM), is a strong and positive signal for our city. This new location places the city of Lyon, more than ever, at the forefront of the "One Health" approach, both locally and internationally."
Grégory Doucet, Mayor of Lyon