Strengthening synergies with health product development partners in Geneva

Presentation

Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) offer a distinctive model for developing health products in areas where traditional market incentives are insufficient. By bringing together scientific expertise, public and philanthropic funding, academia, industry, and other partners, PDPs have successfully advanced vaccines, diagnostics, treatments, and other health technologies from research through development and access.

Geneva is home to a strong concentration of PDPs—including DNDi, FIND, GARDP, and MMV—alongside international organizations, universities, research institutions, life sciences companies, and an emerging innovation and start-up ecosystem. This creates an important opportunity to build stronger connections across Geneva’s health and innovation landscape.

The session will explore how Geneva can build on the PDP model and strengthen connections across its broader health product development and innovation ecosystem. It will bring together PDPs and Geneva-based universities, research groups, start-ups, companies, and other relevant stakeholders to identify opportunities for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and joint development.

The discussion will serve as a starting point for two follow-up seminars planned for the first half of 2027, which will explore concrete opportunities for collaboration and ways to further strengthen Geneva’s position as a hub for health product development and innovation. These could include opportunities to engage new areas of health, including NCDs, as well as to strengthen links between PDPs, research institutions, universities, and start-ups.

 

Objectives

The session aims to:

  • Understand: Explore the needs, expertise, and evolving priorities of PDPs and other health product developers in Geneva.
  • Connect: Bring PDPs together with universities, research institutions, start-ups, companies, and other actors in Geneva’s health and innovation ecosystem.
  • Explore: Identify opportunities to strengthen collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation across the health product development ecosystem.
  • Define: Identify priority areas for collaboration to be developed through the follow-up seminars in 2027.

 

Speakers

Delphine BACHMANN
State Councillor in charge of the Department of Economy, Employment and Energy (DEE)
State of Geneva
Switzerland
Magali BISCHOF
Secretary General
BioAlps
Switzerland
Patricia CROUSAZ PANTET
Economic Affairs Officer
Cantonal Office for Economy and Innovation (ACEI), State of Geneva
Switzerland
Emmanuel DE WATTEVILLE
Head of financing programs
Geneva Foundation for Technological Innovation (Fongit)
Switzerland
Alexandre EPALLE
General Director
Cantonal Office for Economy and Innovation (OCEI), State of Geneva
Switzerland
Viviana MUNOZ TELLEZ
Coordinator, HIPB Programme
South Centre 
Switzerland
Jessica PEREZ
Project coordinator
Geneva Health Forum and Health Product Lab
Switzerland

Agenda

11.00

Welcome address

  • Delphine BACHMANN, State Councillor in charge of the Department of Economy, Employment and Energy (DEE)
11.05

Presentation of the initiative of the State of Geneva

  • Alexandre EPALLE, General Director, Cantonal Office for Economy and Innovation (OCEI), State of Geneva
11.10

Presentation of two economic support organizations in the Canton of Geneva

  • Magali BISCHOF, Secretary General of BioAlps
  • Emmanuel DE WATTEVILLE , Head of financing programs, Geneva Foundation for Technological Innovation (Fongit)
11.25

Overview of the health Product Development Partnership (PDP) ecosystem

  • Viviana MUNOZ TELLEZ, Coordinator, HIPB Programme, South Centre
11.40

Participatory round table: Identifying areas for improvement to strengthen synergies with PDPs in Geneva

  • Magali BISCHOF, Secretary General of BioAlps
  • Jessica PEREZ, Project manager at Geneva Health Forum and CEO at Health Product Lab
12.40

Wrap-up and next steps

  • Patricia CROUSAZ PANTET, Economic Affairs Officer, Cantonal Office for Economy and Innovation (OCEI), State of Geneva
  • Jessica PEREZ, Project manager at Geneva Health Forum and CEO at Health Product Lab
12.45Lunch and networking

Organizers

Photo credit: Yakuzakorat / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY 4.0

Event

Strengthening synergies with health product development partners in Geneva