The Tuscan Life Sciences Technology District (DTSV) comprises the following components:
- companies, private research centers, and third sector entities operating in specific areas of the sector (pharmaceuticals, medical devices, digital health, nutraceuticals, healthcare, and related supply chains) with operational headquarters in the region;
- public research organizations with operational headquarters in the region;
The DTSV aims to liaise between these players to promote innovation and competitiveness in the sector through networking, promotion, dissemination, and enhancement of the technologies and skills of its members.
It is coordinated by a Steering Committee (CdI), composed of six representatives appointed by trade associations representing economic and productive sectors and four representatives appointed by public research bodies, who remain in office for three years. The CdI is chaired by a president, who coordinates its activities and liaises with the designated managing body.
The CdI has designated the Toscana Life Sciences Foundation (TLS) as the managing body acting as the operational secretariat of the CdI. (according to regional DD no. 24866 of 24.11.24)
Tuscany is a leading Italian region in life sciences, contributing ~10% of regional GDP with €12.5B turnover and 19,500 employees (2024). It hosts ~400 firms, mainly pharma, alongside medical devices, digital health, and nutraceutics. Several universities, hospital, public and private research centers support R&D, clinical trials and manufacturing activities.
Pharma, including biotech, is the leading sector, representing > 85% of the turnover of the whole sector (11 Bn in export, 17.000 employees considering the related industries, 1.100 employees in R&D), concentrated in a few large national and international companies. Almost all the pharma value chain is represented (R&D, drugs and vaccines manufacturing, CROs, quality, validation, compliance and engineering services, machines for packaging and production manufacturers) over several therapeutic areas (e.g. vaccines, hematology, endocrinology, ophthalmology, products for the treatment of pain, musculoskeletal diseases, respiratory diseases, as well as with some specializations in oncology, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases) and type of treatment (vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, plasma derivatives, synthetic molecules and natural sources derivatives).
The sector of medical devices includes the majority of companies by number (about 300, mostly micro companies), with a turnover ~ 1 Bn and 2.500 employees in 2023. Turnover is mainly achieved in in vitro diagnostics (IVD), followed by electromedical, diagnostics and instrumental devices.
Digital solutions companies focused on health are a few dozen, including a couple of leading international players and other small and micro enterprises, which together develop software solutions for the management of clinical data, laboratory and healthcare facilities, eHealth and telemedicine applications, software (also AI and augmented/virtual reality based) for medical devices.
There a few companies (about ten) dealing with functional food, food supplements and natural derivatives industry, generally identified as nutraceutical industry, with two relevant leaders at international level in terms of turnover and employees number.
The industrial sector is supported for its need of R&D activities and skilled workforce by a highly performing regional healthcare system, and the several local research institutions, holding significant positions and international collaborations in different life science areas, that represent the core of the proposed ecosystem.
In detail: three universities and three schools for advanced studies (University of Florence, Pisa and Siena, Scuola Superiore S. Anna, Scuola Normale Superiore, IMT of Lucca, respectively), several institutes of the Italian National Research Council (CNR, in Florence and Pisa, where there is the largest research area in Italy), a section of the INFN and one of the IIT in Pisa, four university hospitals (Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, Pisana, Senese and Meyer, the latter being an international reference for pediatrics), Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, the Institute of study, prevention and network in oncology (ISPRO), IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris and Don Gnocchi, the network of social cooperatives affiliated with Umana Persone and the various regional consortia of reference. There are also relevant projects and skills contributed by other hospitals of the regional healthcare system (40 hospitals in total), as well as in the research of the private sector.