Healthcare: Arronax, the R&D centre specialising in nuclear medicine, expands in Atlantic France

The aim of Arronax is to boost research and reduce cancer diagnosis times thanks to nuclear medicine. The centre will be extended with the construction of new laboratories, workshops and offices. The cost of the project, called Nautiluss, is estimated at more than €3 million. 

Linked to Professor Aronnax, a character in the novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, a famous author from Atlantic France, Arronax stands for “Accelerator for Research in Radiochemistry and Oncology at Nantes Atlantique”. 

This research and development centre is based in Saint-Herblain and uses the cyclotron, a particle accelerator useful for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. About sixty employees, mostly researchers, work for Arronax. 

A €3 million extension planned for 2023

An extension of the R&D centre Arronax will be built to include new laboratories, workshops and offices. Planned for 2023, the project is called Nautiluss, which stands for “New Scientific Facilities and Utilities for Health”, again in reference to Jules Verne’s novel. 

This extension is aimed at boosting research and developing the France-made medicines of the future. It will also reduce cancer diagnosis times thanks to nuclear medicine. The project plans to work with large industrial companies or local and regional start-ups.

The cost is estimated at €3.050 million. The European Union has been asked to contribute more than €2 million, whereas the Atlantic France Region and Nantes Metropole have granted €500,000 each.

Qualified for the R&D tax credit

Arronax is managed by a GIP, a public interest grouping which brings together all the players in Nantes working on research and development in nuclear medicine. It recently qualified for the R&D tax credit that allows the centre to carry out R&D work on behalf of companies between the years of 2022 and 2026.