He died Friday, May 19 at the age of 61. Jean-Marc Gandon, founder and director of Biotrial died after an illness. The man was well known in Rennes where his medical research business had flourished since its creation in 1989. Just over 200 people work in laboratories in the Breton capital where clinical trials are conducted. His funeral will be celebrated this Friday in the church of Saint-Melaine, in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine).

Jean-Marc Gandon had the idea of founding his own laboratory after a stay in the United States. Trained at the University of Rennes, the pharmacist had launched a research center there. Working for the largest pharmaceutical groups, the company conducted paid clinical studies to test new drugs and therapies before they were released on the market.

A "passionate, discreet" man

In 2016, the laboratory was the scene of a failed trial, which led to the death of a volunteer, victim of a treatment designed by the Portuguese laboratory Bial. Five people had been hospitalized and several investigations had been opened. The investigation is still ongoing. The same year, a research center was inaugurated in New York while the Rennes unit had lost "three quarters of its contracts in fifteen days".

Jean-Marc Gandon had taken over the presidency of the Rennes-1 Foundation and had invested a lot in the Bretagne Innovation network, which he also directed. In a statement, the president of the Brittany region Loïg Chesnais-Girard paid tribute to Jean-Marc Gandon. "He was a visionary who worked hard for Brittany. A passionate, discreet man with a great sense of the collective. Throughout his professional career, he has invested in developing innovation in our region and our health sector."

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