The bioMérieux site located at Bagno a Ripoli near Florence is now called Rodolphe Mérieux Campus. It includes a new R&D building, the Michele Palladino Research and Innovation Center where bioMérieux teams develop cutting-edge diagnostic solutions to help combat Antimicrobial Resistance. Among the officials who attended the inaugural event: Alain Mérieux, Chairman of Institut Mérieux, Pierre Boulud, Chief Executive Officer of bioMérieux, Cyril Blondel, Minister Counselor of the French Embassy to Italy, Stefano Ciuoffo, Tuscany Region Representative and Francesco Casini, Mayor of Bagno a Ripoli.

It took three years of preliminary studies and construction work to realize the new bioMérieux R&D Center in Italy. Inside this state-of-the-art 2000-sq-meter building, there are a research and development center, the offices of the R&D teams and their partner functions as well as creative areas (meeting rooms, creative room) and social spaces (break rooms, cafeteria, terrace). “This building was designed to foster exchange and innovation while improving  the well-being of our team members. We also have larger spaces to accommodate our colleagues from other bioMérieux sites, as well as our external visitors, in order to facilitate collaborative work.”, explains Pascal Quinodon, Director of the Florence site.

High-tech laboratories

In addition to a biological laboratory, the new R&D center in Florence is equipped with a climatic chamber and a semi-anechoic chamber for performing electro-magnetic compatibility tests, allowing to speed up development and increase productivity. Gaining time is crucial when addressing infectious diseases, and in particular Antimicrobial Resistance which is responsible of 1.27 million deaths per year in the world, including 11,000 in Italy.

The Rodolphe Mérieux Campus near Florence is not only a flagship of innovation but also an environmentally friendly building, in line with bioMérieux’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ambition. Photovoltaic panels installed on the roof can cover 30- 35% of the new building's energy consumption. Geothermal energy saves the equivalent of 21 tons of CO₂ per year. Collecting rainwater for running sanitary facilities and watering gardens saves 250 m³ of water per year. Finally, several actions in favor of biodiversity have been implemented as part of a partnership with LIPU – the Italian league for bird protection.

An investment of €9 million

The cost of this project amounts to €9 million, including almost €1 million for improvements linked to the CSR performance of the building. Every year, bioMérieux invests massively to upgrade its sites and increase its production capacities, in support of its long-term growth strategy.

Stathis Chorianopoulos, Managing Director of bioMérieux Italy and Vice President of the Adriatic Region for bioMérieux, concludes: “We are proud to see our teams working in such a pleasant and stimulating environment. Our site is a model of technology, in which our teams will be able to develop innovative diagnostic solutions in order to contribute to improving public health.”