New Health Technologies Campus Planned for Esch-sur-Alzette

On Wednesday 9 March 2022, Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, Franz Fayot, announced the creation in Esch-sur-Alzette of a campus dedicated to health technologies.

The project, on the initiative of private investors, will benefit from the concession of a surface right from the Syndicat intercommunal for the creation, development, promotion and operation of regional economic activity zones in Ehlerange (ZARE).

Located on the ZARE “A Sommet” site on an area of ​​nearly 2.4 hectares, the campus will be located between the House of BioHealth (HoBH), the future Südspidol of the Emile Mayrisch Hospital Centre (CHEM) and the Cité des sciences de Belval, thus enabling a geographical rapprochement between research, innovation and medicine, key innovation partners in the ecosystem of health technologies.

Called the "Health And Lifescience Innovation (HE:AL) Campus", this large-scale infrastructure project aims to primarily attract companies active in the field of medical devices, in vitro diagnostics, and digital health tools and services. Research and development, innovation, production, as well as consulting or services in the field of health technologies, are also targeted. By responding to the structural and infrastructure needs of companies in these sectors wishing to establish themselves in Luxembourg, the site will contribute to the development of essential technological pillars for the implementation of personalised medicine, centered on the use of data from health, thanks to artificial intelligence.

The health technology sector in Luxembourg includes 136 companies and employs nearly 1,900 people, 80% of whom were active in structures with no more than ten employees. Half of these 136 companies are less than ten years old. As a key element of the strategy of diversification of the national economy, the health technology sector in Luxembourg relies heavily on the digitalisation of all aspects of health and the patient's medical journey with the objective of support the emergence of smart health products and services centered around personalised and digital medicine.

Planned to start in 2024, the HE:AL Campus will be "phygital" and aims to combine the physical world and the digital world to improve the user experience of its various occupants and actors, by promoting their networking as well as their access to new services locally and internationally. Represented by its president, Simone Asselborn-Bintz, ZARE will grant surface rights to the bearer of this project, namely the company Innovation Cluster, represented by its administrators Jean-Paul Scheuren and Romain Poulles, for the construction of this campus.

During the presentation of the project, Minister Fayot, said: "Following the proven success of the House of BioHealth, the future HE:AL Campus will complement the existing reception and accommodation infrastructures in this field and will thus further contribute to the development of the health science and technology sector in Luxembourg, which has experienced great growth in recent years. The Ministry of the Economy has fully played its role of facilitator between private investors and ZARE, whose officials I thank for their commitment and their entrepreneurial vision in carrying out this promising future project.”

Ms Asselborn-Bintz, explained: "As a developer of economic activity zones at regional level, normally for the benefit of crafts, light industry, wholesale trade and logistics, the ZARE intermunicipal union is proud to be able to collaborate once again on the success of a major project for the health technology sector which will certainly contribute to economic diversification at the national level.”

Jean-Paul Scheuren, Manager of Innovation Cluster, added: “Based on the experience of the House of Biohealth, we are convinced that this PPP (Public Private Partnership) will be the key to the success of the HE:AL Campus – each party bringing its strengths to the partnership. HE:AL Campus is a highly ambitious project, but Luxembourg has all the cards in hand to become a key player in innovation in the life sciences at the scientific level, as well as at the economic and democratic levels.”

Visit of the Siemens Healthineers Experience Centre and thematic exchanges

The programme for the day included a guided tour by Minister of Economy and the delegation that accompanied him to Erlangen in Bavaria, Germany, of the Siemens Healthineers Experience Centre, followed by a working meeting with several senior company officials.

Siemens Healthineers AG belongs to the Siemens group, while being managed independently. With headquarters in Erlangen, Siemens Healthineers has, just next door in Forchheim, a manufacturing plant for medical equipment for hospitals and analysis laboratories as well as a demonstration centre where its products and services are displayed. centered around medical imaging, diagnostics and innovative therapies called the Siemens Healthineers Experience Centre. As part of a guided tour of this centre, the delegation was able to discover more than 50 products and solutions from the portfolio of Siemens Healthineers which are shown there and which the visitor can experience for himself.

One of the strategic priorities of Siemens Healthineers is centered around the use of digital, artificial intelligence and data in health technologies, to address the needs of patients and healthcare professionals. The equipment developed is thus integrated into a portfolio of digital solutions allowing the transformation of care pathways for the patient, the improvement of their user experience and the digitilisation of the healthcare system.

The purpose of the working meeting was to identify potential avenues for collaboration, both at national and European level, between Siemens Healthineers and the Luxembourg health technology ecosystem. After a presentation of three key digital tools developed by Siemens Healthineers, national initiatives aimed at developing an innovative digital health ecosystem in Luxembourg, such as participation in Gaia-X, the supercomputer Meluxina or the national data exchange platform (PNED), were presented in turn. The exchanges mainly focused on the use of data and artificial intelligence in medical innovation and health technologies, mainly with a view to bringing benefits to citizens, patients and health professionals.

The delegation accompanying Minister Fayot is made up of nearly 20 people from the Ministry of the Economy, the Health Directorate, the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), the National Health Fund (CNS), the University of Luxembourg as well as stakeholders in the HE:AL project, including representatives of ZARE.