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RESEARCH 2004, May 19   BIOalternatives exports its know-how   BIOalternatives has successfully implanted its name.   Founded in 1996 by François-Xavier Bernard and Alain Duguercy, BIOalternatives is one of the best reputed French laboratories for in vitro trials in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical fields. Located in Gencay, in the south of the Vienne department, the in vitro trial laboratory BIOalternatives constitutes a true nationwide reference in its field of activity. In 2003, this Poitiers-based company was awarded the departmental trophy of the aptly named “New exporter”. Such a distinction was no surprise to the market specialists; in 2003, this small business registered 15% of its sales through exports (United States, South Korea, Japan…), compared with just 4% the previous year. It all got underway in 1996 when François-Xavier Bernard and Alain Deguercy, two alumnae of the Poitiers Faculty of Sciences, decided to create their own laboratory. Their stock in trade? In vitro tests meant to assess the efficacy or toxicity of molecules and other pharmaceutical or cosmetic products. “Our research at times led us to use costly material such as an electronic microscope. So we returned to the Vienne department in order to benefit from the Faculty’s proximity”, explains Alain Deguercy. Breaking ground It is indeed in southern Vienne that BIOalternatives is conducting confidential tests, at times for the renowned names of the pharmaceutical or chemical industries, of the active ingredients that female consumers will wind up finding in their make-up cases. “We are altogether intransigent with regard to results. It breaks ground or it breaks down.” In order to perform these evaluative experiments, no less than 16 people are mobilized in a building of 500 square meters constructed by the village and acquired by the company at cost price. Highly operational equipment geared to “go ever farther in comprehension of the living. Each year, the investments represent 15 to 20% of our overall sales”. A payroll multiplied by four in seven years, activity on the rise… In the realm of in vitro trials, as one of but two laboratories of this type existing on a national scale, BIOalternatives has successfully implanted its name. Intent on proceeding apace with its development, the company is laying pronounced emphasis on the manufacture of finely wrought DNA chips and R & D tailored to the needs of the cosmetic industry, which represents 80% of its activity. So as to more amply accommodate this growth, work at enlarging the present-day building is now in the offing. In two or three years, a new unit may quite possibly see the light of day. At BIOalternatives, the guiding word is single and imperative: Innovate! 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