Who is ABL and what are their areas of expertise?
ABL is a subsidiary of the Institut Mérieux that specializes in the bioproduction of innovative immunotherapy and gene therapy treatments. ABL has an international presence, through a site in the United States and two sites in France, created in 2016 in Strasbourg and in 2018 in Lyon.
We are a pharmaceutical contract manufacturer (called “CDMO”), which means that we work on behalf of clients to support them in the different phases of the clinical development of their product. The ambition is to support them until they are commercialized. Our clients are large pharmaceuticals, small biotechs, start-ups or even university laboratories.
What are the market developments?
We have gone from mass medicine to increasingly personalized niche medicine, which entails the multiplicity of possible treatments and technologies to be implemented. Consequently, the need for skills becomes increasingly technical, specific and specialized. This requires that we have extremely well-trained employees. And as these technologies evolve very quickly, we are implementing a human resources policy focused on training to meet the requirements of this highly regulated market.
What are your differentiating assets in terms of human resources?
From an HR point of view, our way of operating is based primarily on flexibility and trust. We have so-called “flat” organizations, with few hierarchical lines, which allows us to have shorter decision cycles. This model promotes the empowerment of our employees and encourages innovation, creativity and team spirit, allowing them to contribute more broadly to the development and success of the company.
Another of our characteristics is the versatility in our activities. In the production chain, some trades can seem routine. To keep our employees interested and motivated, but also to develop their skills, we train them to be involved throughout the process. Beyond the positive impact on our employees, this versatility is a key asset to offer flexibility and responsiveness to the demands of our customers.
Why is loyalty a crucial topic for your human resources?
We have a profession that requires specialization, which essentially requires long training times. We work to retain our employees in order to keep this experience in-house. We can develop our employees towards other professions with us. A production technician can join, be trained in all the processes and then move on to a specialist position or team leader, they can also change the sector of activity and join quality control and vice versa. Belonging to the Institut Mérieux group, which is made up of five complementary companies, also allows mobility between the different entities.
Furthermore, through our membership in the Mérieux ecosystem, we share a long-term vision and a strong commitment to global public health. This membership obligates us to excel in our operations and conduct. These strong values make sense in our businesses and contribute to the loyalty of our employees.
This content was produced with SCRIBEO. The BFMBUSINESS editorial team was not involved in the production of this content.
Source: BFM TV
