A thriving network, cross-disciplinary approach, and strong local collaboration make Nantes a national and even European leader in several healthcare specialties. The hôpital Loire Santé and dedicated health innovation spaces will create new opportunities to position Nantes as a European centre of excellence for the future of healthcare.
The health of tomorrow is being built in Nantes
By 2027, the new hospital will be located in the heart of the Health District on the Île de Nantes. More than just a hospital, it will be a true hospital-university district, bringing together research institutes, a health innovation campus, health startups, and biotech companies. By uniting healthcare professionals, researchers, and businesses, this district will foster the most innovative health projects. Companies like i-Sep and the recently established Kicmed are examples of this ambition.
Key figures
2000
research staff
200
companies
10 000
medical students
35 000
direct jobs
52
laboratories
We were looking for a city offering a pool of digital talent, sales and customer service profiles, and a pleasant living environment for our current and future employees. Nantes ticked every box.
Doctolib
GINA: 4,500 m² dedicated to new health enterprises
Located at the heart of the Health District on the Île de Nantes, GINA marks the concrete launch of the “Archipel de l’innovation en santé”, complementing Nantes Bio Ouest and Nantes Biotech. From 2025, the GINA business hub will welcome healthcare professionals, researchers, students, teachers, and entrepreneurs in 4,500 m² of office and workshop space dedicated to health innovation. It will host the Hôpital Loire Santé, specialised incubators, associations, competitiveness clusters, and dedicated services, all working towards accelerating the market launch of patient-focused solutions. GINA is part of a collective ambition to establish Nantes Métropole as a European reference for the future of healthcare.
With “l’archipel de l’innovation en santé” —the codename for this future 30,000 m² health innovation campus on the Île de Nantes—and the Biopark in Saint-Herblain, we are equipping ourselves to support a new generation of doctor-researcher-entrepreneurs inventing tomorrow’s healthcare today.
Nantes Métropole
A new hospital in 2027
The Health District will unite all health stakeholders on a single site, with the new hospital opening on the Île de Nantes by 2027, creating significant opportunities for the sector. Beyond a new hospital, it will be a true hospital-university district, including a new Faculty of Health covering 38,000 m², bringing together 10,000 students and numerous research institutes. This development aims to make Nantes a leader in the Hospital of the Future, attracting the best researchers worldwide. The Île de Nantes will feature state-of-the-art infrastructures supporting health innovation from laboratory to startup, and from startup to production facility at the Laënnec Biopark in Saint-Herblain, on Nantes’ outskirts.
European leader in biotherapy research
Nantes Métropole is a recognised leader in health and biotechnology research.
The region’s research reputation, combined with major infrastructure and innovative SMEs, has strengthened its appeal. Atlanpole Biotherapies is one of the most attractive and dynamic clusters in France for biotherapy development. It boasts the highest number of funded projects in France, attracts thousands of researchers—over 1,000 in the past decade—and encourages startup creation. This cluster gathers 200 members around immunotherapy, regenerative medicine, innovative biotherapy technologies, and radiopharmaceuticals. Some of its members, such as OSE Immunotherapeutics and Xenothera, are European or global leaders. Research focuses on three main themes: immunotherapy, radiopharmaceuticals, and regenerative medicine.
Cutting-edge specialties
With 12,500 employees, including 1,200 doctors, the Nantes University Hospital (CHU) leads many health research projects. It hosts the Transplantation, Urology, and Nephrology Institute (Itun), one of Europe’s top centres for kidney and pancreas transplants. There are around 2,000 clinical trials underway at CHU Nantes, which is France’s leading centre for early-phase haematology clinical trials and the top French centre in nuclear oncology. Nearby, Saint-Herblain is home to the Western Cancer Institute (ICO), the second-largest cancer centre in France.
The healthcare of tomorrow
Connected health, digital healthcare, telemedicine, digital stimulation, data, and artificial intelligence… In Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, researchers and startups are inventing tomorrow’s healthcare solutions to improve care and patient outcomes. Doctolib, a leader in teleconsultation, recognised this potential by opening its second national office in Nantes in 2020. Additionally, a dozen innovative e-health and well-being startups—combining health and digital technologies—have set up on the Île de Nantes.
Key sub-sectors:
Immunotherapy
Research and innovation on antibodies and vaccines to fight cancer, autoimmune, and infectious diseases: This sector includes over 60 organisations, including research and healthcare units, medical companies, technological platforms, and technical centres.
Regenerative medicine
Atlanpole Biotherapies members develop innovative solutions to tackle organ shortages and improve immunological monitoring for transplant patients. They experiment with new therapeutic approaches in musculoskeletal diseases, dermatology, oncology, pneumology, and rare diseases.
Well-being & nutrition
With startups, food industry leaders, research institutes, Technocampus Alimentation, the wholesale food market (Marché d’Intérêt National), and more, Nantes Métropole has all the ingredients to design, produce, and test tomorrow’s food innovations.
E-health
Nantes has established itself as a major player in the e-health sector in France, thanks to a dynamic ecosystem that fosters innovation, research, and collaboration between public and private stakeholders. Nantes University Hospital (CHU de Nantes) is recognised for its pioneering projects in telemedicine, artificial intelligence applied to healthcare, and medical data management.