France - Paris

According to the OECD, France spends over 11 per cent of its GDP on healthcare, the highest figure in the EU after Germany. Due to the presence of several large companies (e.g. Sanofi, Servier, Ipsen, Pierre Fabre, Guerbet, LFB), France is a leading innovator in drug development. This is underpinned by the French pharmaceutical industry investing 12 per cent of its turnover in R&D. France is also the main country in Europe and 3rd globally in terms of drug production by value. Moreover, France ranks second in Europe, after Germany, in number of full-time researchers working in the life sciences sector.