French government invests €13.4m in IMODI project
PPP aims to establish first national subsidiary dedicated to personalised medicine in oncology
The IMODI (Innovative MODels Initiative) is to receive €13.4m in funding under the French Government‘s Investing for the Future programme.
The IMODI project aims to make the selection of new treatments against eight cancers easier. The national initiative will pool the resources allocated to the development, profiling and evaluation of more than 200 predictive experimental cancer models and a range of derivative biological products and tests for molecular selection.
The project also plans to create a centralised biobank with more than 40,000 biological samples and powerful data analysis tools to identify tumour and immunological biomarkers, as well as those coming from the microbiome.
Under the management and coordination of Oncodesign, the seven-year project brings together six industrial groups (Sanofi, Servier, Ipsen, Pierre Fabre, Transgene and Biofortis), four SMEs (Oncomedics, Ariana Pharma, CTI Biotech and Oncodesign) and seven French institutions (Inserm [the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research], CNRS, [the French National Center for Scientific Research], the Georges Francois Leclerc Center in Dijon, the Leon Berard Center in Lyon for cancer research and treatment, Synergie Lyon Cancer, the University of Strasbourg and Toulouse University Hospital).
Each organisation belongs to one of five competitiveness clusters with authority to certify projects: Medicen, for the Paris Region, Alsace Biovalley, Lyonbiopole, Atlanpole Biotherapies in Nantes and Cancer-Bio-Sante in Toulouse.
The funding will be allocated between the project‘s French institutions and financed partner SMEs. IMODI‘s forecasted overall investment budget of €41m also includes private investment. Over the next ten years the project will create 350 jobs.
‘This project offers a unique opportunity to increase the rate of innovation and identification of cancer therapies and biomarkers, with the creation of an organised national structure designed for the development of personalised medicine which directly benefits patients,’ said Philippe Genne, Oncodesign's President and CEO.
