Subsection 1: Organisations preserving and preparing tissues and cells from the human body for their own research programmes

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Article R1243-51

French Public Health CodeIn force

Updated 5 Nov 2023

The declaration is made up of a letter signed by the legal representative of the applicant organisation and a supporting file, entered using a teleservice. The letter describes the activity and certifies that the signatory has approved the supporting file. It is sent via the teleservice to the Minister for Research and, where applicable, to the Director General of the Regional Health Agency. The supporting dossier will only be taken into account once this letter has been received.

The procedures for entering the supporting file using the teleservice and the model supporting file are set by order of the Minister for Research. The file includes in particular

1° The identity of the scientist(s) responsible for the declared activities; if there is more than one scientist responsible, a coordinating scientist is appointed;

2° A description of the premises, equipment and materials used for each of the activities;

3° A description of the samples or collections, where they come from and how they were obtained;

4° The conditions for informing the persons from whom the biological elements are obtained and, depending on the cases provided for in Article L. 1211-2, the procedures for obtaining consent or the procedures for verifying the absence of opposition;

5° If storage or preparation activities for therapeutic purposes are carried out on the same site, details of the means intended to avoid the risk of contamination.

The Minister responsible for research sends the Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé the name of each organisation that has declared activities of preservation or preparation for scientific purposes of tissues and cells from the human body carried out on the same site as activities of the same nature carried out for therapeutic purposes. If he considers it necessary, the Director General of the Agency may request that the files of declaring organisations whose names he has received be sent to him. The files forwarded to him shall include details provided by the reporting body of the measures taken to avoid the risk of contamination.

Mariela Petrova

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Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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