Erytech Pharma to lead TEDAC project
Will receive OSEO funding of €10.7m to develop personalised medicines to treat cancer
The French TEDAC project has received funding totalling €10.7m from OSEO to develop personalised medicines for cancer.
Erytech Pharma, a biopharmaceutical firm based in Lyon, has received €6.95m to lead the Therapeutic Enzymes to Deplete Amino acids to treat Cancers resistant to radio/chemotherapy (TEDAC) project.
Erytech is developing a new approach to fight cancer by starving tumours through depleting specific amino acids needed for their growth.
Exonhit, based in Paris, will receive €1.93m to participate in the project by using its proprietary genome wide SpliceArray (GWSA) technology to study tumour transcriptomic profiles in the initial phase, followed by the development of a companion diagnostic test.
The goals of the project are to:
- Develop a relevant ex vivo human tumour model to be as close as possible to clinical conditions;
- Offer doctors an adjusted therapy according to patients’ tumour characteristics;
- Identify biomarkers of susceptibility to therapeutic response in the context of reducing the risks associated with the development of treatments;
- Develop an enzymatic therapy companion diagnostic that will identify responders, thus improving personalised care; and
- Develop a new test to check therapeutic enzymes action in real-time during the treatment.
Pierre-Olivier Goineau, ceo of Erytech, said: ‘This project is a key step in the implementation of our strategy in personalised medicine. We will offer a new way of fighting cancers by better profiling the patients and offering up to four complementary products to fight cancer by well-targeted and prolonged depletion of specific amino acids from the tumour environment.’
Exonhit’s ceo Loïc Maurel added: ‘This project is a new opportunity for the company to implement its expertise in the development of companion diagnostics, and a key step in the implementation of our strategy in personalised medicine.‘
Exonhit’s GWSA technology is a patented microarray design that incorporates a specific probe configuration, enabling the monitoring of RNA splice variants in humans, mice and rats. These arrays cover whole genomes and monitor known and predicted alternative RNA splicing events. They are used in the company’s biomarker and target discovery process.
The TEDAC project also includes InGen BioSciences, AP-HP (Paris Public Hospitals), Inserm (National Institute for medical research), and Paris-Diderot University. Endorsed by the Competitiveness Cluster Lyonbiopôle, it will run for eight years.