David Sourdive, Vice President of Corporate Development at Cellectis, has been appointed by French Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq to boost France’s export performance in the health sector

Paris, May 2nd 2013 - Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS), the French genome engineering specialist, has announced the appointment of David Sourdive as head of the Treat Yourself Better initiative. This project aims to make France more competitive in the health sector. To this end, David Sourdive will become France’s “coordinator” on the international level, with the goal of assembling all market players so as to take advantage of new growth opportunities in the health sector.

In order to boost French foreign trade and respond to the emergence of new global needs, Nicole Bricq has established four priorities for action: Treat Yourself Better, Eat Better, Communicate Better and Live Better in the City, which target the sectors in which French industry has a competitive edge.

To direct these four projects, the Minister chose individuals who are particularly involved and recognized within their field.

The context of the Treat Yourself Better initiative, to be led by Cellectis co-founder David Sourdive, is that health expenses in emerging countries are increasing, in step with the aging population. This trend promises strong growth in the health market in the years to come.

Drawing upon France’s innovation potential as well as a worldwide network of dedicated contacts, David Sourdive’s mission is to bring together health-sector stakeholders to help them establish a durable foothold on the global market.

Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq said, “The government and all economic stakeholders are mobilizing to give French companies the resources they need in order to meet the expectations of an increasingly competitive global market and ensure lasting growth.” In the words of David Sourdive, “with a quality offering and a network of dynamic SMEs, particularly in the field of biotechnology, France is up to the challenge of growing global demand in the health sector. These entities do, however, need support if they are to effectively promote the French offering abroad.”

A graduate of the École Polytechnique, David Sourdive, PhD is Vice President of Corporate Development and co-founder of Cellectis. After completing his doctorate in molecular virology at the Institut Pasteur, he joined one of the leading laboratories in viral immunology, at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) to conduct research on immunological memory. Before founding Cellectis, he was the director of the biotechnology laboratory at the Centre d’études du Bouchet for the French Ministry of Defense. He also has management training from the HEC (Challenge +).