Innovation in healthcare is the result of collaborative efforts. Born out of this conviction is Servier’s Golden Ticket program, which gives selected start-ups a place in an incubator and key resources to advance their R&D projects. Let’s take a closer look at this global initiative at the core of Servier’s innovation hubs!
Golden Ticket: A launch pad for start-ups
Bridging the gap between start-ups and the global pharmaceutical ecosystem, the Golden Ticket program is an open initiative designed to stimulate scientific innovation on behalf of patients. Golden Ticket winners receive a one-year incubation placement, joining a unique environment designed to give them all the resources they need to unlock the potential of new therapies, particularly in oncology and neurology—key focus areas of Servier’s R&D.
Fostering intellectual curiosity in a world-class scientific environment
In this vibrant ecosystem, start-ups can also tap into a vast network of scientific expertise and mentoring, as well as take part in scientific events. Having a place in this world-class innovation hub is a distinct advantage, as it allows them to bounce ideas off each other, get unparalleled guidance and advice, and compare approaches. Cultivating a peer culture of experience sharing increases the chances of success, a concept known as “shared experience and shared wisdom.”
Thanks to the Golden Ticket, start-ups enjoy access to cutting-edge laboratory facilities. The incubator’s support also includes one year of a researcher’s operating costs, equipment maintenance, and hands-on training.
Establishing a foothold in the pharmaceutical world
The financial support is accompanied by mentorship from Servier. For start-ups, it is also an opportunity to immerse themselves in and integrate into the world of pharmaceutical companies. Gaining an inside perspective gives them a more refined understanding of industry codes, which is key to better identifying the needs of a sector that is often their end customer.
Being awarded a Golden Ticket not only demonstrates the relevance of the start-up’s approach but also enhances their attractiveness to potential investors and partners.
Servier, a commitment-driven partner and a human-scale company
“As a mid-sized pharmaceutical company, Servier has a lot to offer Golden Ticket winners. They get to work with an international pharma player in a supportive environment, while also reaping the benefits of a flexible, human-sized group. This setup allows start-ups to forge close ties with decision-makers, promote direct interaction with experts, and ensure that their projects receive attentive guidance conducive to progress.”
Chloé Leprêtre, Head of Global R&D Search and Evaluation, Servier
A strategic driver for innovation
A perfect example of an open innovation approach, the Golden Ticket program is a win-win initiative that creates synergies between the agility of promising young start-ups and established pharmaceutical expertise. This interaction between differing yet complementary players generates a dynamic and productive research environment, bringing together combined expertise and a shared ambition to innovate for the benefit of patients. The pharmaceutical sector then informs its own strategic reasoning by comparing and contrasting its vision and expertise with the disruptive approaches of biotech. This balanced collaborative relationship stimulates value creation for both parties, accelerates research, and ultimately leads to the faster development of treatments for patients.
A valuable source of scientific innovation for Servier
“The Golden Ticket program is for Servier a strategic and highly valuable means of enhancing the company’s visibility in the biotech ecosystem, identifying and establishing links with promising start-ups — with no immediate contractual obligations — and gaining early access to high-potential projects directly related to key therapeutic areas such as oncology and neuroscience. In this way, we are creating new bridges, both externally and internally, by stimulating employee engagement. This program is fully in line with the Group’s 2030 ambition to build a robust pipeline and become a leader in our areas of expertise by actively sourcing innovation where it originates.”
Chloé Leprêtre, Head of Global R&D Search and Evaluation, Servier
A global strategy to capture innovation where it emerges
The Golden Ticket initiative is part of a global strategy designed to leverage opportunities for collaboration between Servier, incubators, and start-ups, by establishing a presence—from Boston to Saclay—at the heart of the most dynamic ecosystems within our therapeutic areas. These key locations provide the ideal environment for developing therapeutic projects to benefit patients.
Boston-Cambridge: The global hotbed of biotech innovation
Since 2017, Servier has awarded an annual Golden Ticket in partnership with LabCentral, a leading incubator at the heart of the Boston-Cambridge ecosystem. LabCentral is currently the world’s most scientifically dense location, with more than 1,000 companies, some of the largest universities in the US (MIT, Harvard), leading pharmaceutical companies, the five GAMAM (Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft), research centers in all fields, and world-renowned biotech incubators. This thriving concentration of disruptive and innovative players makes LabCentral the ideal environment for start-ups looking to develop their work and offer new therapeutic solutions.
About LabCentral
Founded in 2013 as a springboard for high-potential life science start-ups, LabCentral offers more than 20,000 square meters of fully equipped laboratories in Cambridge and Boston, accommodating up to 125 start-ups, or approximately 1,000 scientists and entrepreneurs. In partnership with sponsors, including Servier, LabCentral has awarded more than 150 Golden Tickets since its inception, representing the equivalent of $7.5 million in services and support.
The Saclay campus: a unique research hub
In 2024, Servier launched a Golden Ticket program in partnership with BioLabs. The prize? One year of free incubation at Spartners by Servier & BioLabs. This start-up incubator is housed within the Servier Research and Development Institute at Saclay, which opened its doors in 2023 at the Paris-Saclay interdisciplinary innovation hub. The location was not chosen at random. Ranked among the top eight innovation hubs in the world, it has, like Boston-Cambridge, a leading international reputation. The campus is home to key players in research, international companies, start-ups, and schools and universities of excellence, such as the University of Paris-Saclay. Currently accounting for 15% of French research in terms of researcher numbers and 40% of private and public research jobs in the Île-de-France region, in a few years’ time it will bring together nearly 25% of French scientific research.
About Spartners by Servier & BioLabs
Operated by BioLabs, the leader in shared laboratories, Spartners by Servier & BioLabs is designed to host biotech start-ups in the healthcare field within a 1,850 m² building featuring fully equipped laboratories and office spaces. Everything is designed to enable over 100 scientists to focus independently on science and accelerate the R&D of their projects for the benefit of patients. The immediate proximity to Servier employees fosters collaboration and increases the chances of forming successful partnerships.
Medicon Valley: Europe’s leading health cluster
In 2025, Servier is launching a new initiative in the Nordic countries, in partnership with SmiLe Venture Hub, Sweden’s leading life sciences incubator, recently ranked among the “Europe’s Leading Start-up Hubs 2024”1 par le Financial Times. It is strategically based in the heart of Medicon Valley, which in less than ten years has become one of the world’s leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical clusters, born out of cooperation between two European countries. Straddling the border between Denmark and Sweden, it is a talent pool supported by world-renowned universities and excellent research facilities. As Servier is already present in Denmark through Symphogen, our center of excellence in antibodies, particularly in oncology, this Golden Ticket is an opportunity to strengthen our partnerships in the Nordic region.
“In the future, Servier could expand the Golden Ticket program, including in China, focusing on environments where there is a high level of innovation in our therapeutic areas and a mature and well-connected ecosystem of incubators, universities, and industrial players. Each Golden Ticket initiative is tailored to local characteristics, drawing on existing resources to provide start-ups with customized support and maximize their potential —while also strengthening Servier’s visibility as a partner of choice.”
Chloé Leprêtre, Head of Global R&D Search and Evaluation, Servier
