Icypro project selected in the 2018 SESAME filières PIA call for proposals launched by the French government and the Greater Paris region

The SESAME Filières PIA call for proposals, launched jointly by the Greater Paris region and the French government, offers support for projects demonstrating a high level of scientific and technological innovation and ambition, mainly led by higher education and research organizations and institutions in the Greater Paris region.

The aim of this call for proposals is to strengthen links between researchers and industry, thereby boosting the region's scientific and technological competitiveness.

For this first edition, three winners were selected from among all the participating higher education and research organizations and institutions for their innovative projects. The three projects were awarded a total sum of €2 million.

The Icypro project is one of the winning projects, alongside those from the École des Ponts ParisTech and AgroParisTech. All three projects were chosen for their potential to make a significant contribution to the development of technological expertise in the Greater Paris region in a way that will benefit SMEs, while fostering partnerships between laboratories and industry with the aim of strengthening the region's economic dynamism and its role as a driver of innovation.

The Icypro project is led by the Bioimage Analysis Unit directed by Prof. Jean-Christophe Olivo-Marin at the Institut Pasteur and Elodie Brient-Litzler from the Research Applications and Industrial Relations Department (DARRI). Jean-Yves Thinevez (head of the Image Analysis Hub) and Jean-Baptiste Masson (Head of the junior Group Decision and Bayesian Computation) are also participating in the plan to contribute their expertise and create synergies.

Icy is a free, open-access software platform created by the Institut Pasteur's Bioimage Analysis Unit which has been used by thousands of biology researchers worldwide since 2012. It offers access to effective solutions developed in response to the challenge of biological imaging data analysis in the fields of life sciences and health.

The Icypro project involves:

developing the Icy software suite into a software product that better meets industry needs.
setting up a suite of services for industry, especially SMEs in the Greater Paris region, based on this software and the laboratory's expertise. It will be operated in connection with the Bioimage Analysis Unit and will be known as omnIA – biological image analysis services for industry.

The aim of the project is to share the expertise and advanced research solutions developed at the Institut Pasteur with fields where they will have a real impact for patients, in diagnostics/medtech or to speed up the discovery of new drugs. The support of Bpifrance investment bank and the Greater Paris region will help kick-start this work and enable a dedicated team to be set up.

Specific opportunities offered by the project include:

co-developing analytical solutions for new cytology and histopathology technologies with medtech companies developing innovative reagents and instruments
developing generic analytical plug-ins for companies selling microscopes to research laboratories that they can distribute to their customers with these instruments
proposing the development of customized image analysis solutions to R&D departments in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry which rely heavily on imaging

The commercial venture will be launched in May at the SNITEM start-up fair.

Find out more about the Icy software platform

Read the press release