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Supported since its creation by Institut Imagine and Inserm Transfert, the start-up MEDETIA has been working for 4 years to identify and accelerate emerging therapeutic drug innovations. The drug candidates are identified after assessing for recent patents free of exploitation, accessible with the support of Inserm Transfert, on behalf of Inserm laboratories and its academic partners. The technical skills and expertise present and available among Institut Imagine’s teams allow the potential of the identified candidates to be evaluated. This mode of operation has enabled the emergence of 3 innovative treatments and the establishment of a unique research consortium on ciliopathies of the kidney, retina and bone tissue, coupled with a desire for innovation in medicinal chemistry.
"Rare diseases are diverse and specific, which is why we have structured the evaluation of our projects in a three-phase maturation process called Hybridge. We are developing a proprietary and customisable methodology to address complex drug discovery problems, combining cutting-edge technologies with proven pharmacological and medical solutions" said Luis Briseno-Roa, CPO and co-founder of MEDETIA.
MEDETIA is announcing today that it is stepping up this type of partnership research with the creation of a national R&D and drug discovery acceleration program with an increased support from Inserm Transfert to promote access to the research excellence of Inserm laboratories:
The Hybridge program enables the identification of candidate molecules for the treatment of rare diseases, with the objective of "de-risk" as soon as possible by providing rapid, personalized support that creates value through the consolidation of intellectual property. For each project, active support is provided over a three-year period, in order to propose at the end of this period a molecular pharmacological entity that is sufficiently mature to enter the clinical development phase within 18 months.
" Thanks to the alliance built with Institut Imagine and Inserm Transfert, we can detect, evaluate and transform cutting-edge innovations and treatment opportunities that will meet the medical needs of patients suffering from rare diseases and severe neurodegenerative pathologies. Our unique position at the heart of research laboratories facilitates access to relevant biological models that encapsulate key disease characteristics. To transform innovation into new medicines, we are pleased to benefit from Ipsen's expertise and experience to accelerate the transformation of research projects from experimental pharmacology to clinical development " said Jean-Philippe Annereau, CEO and co-founder of MEDETIA.
The Hybridge program comprises 3 stages: Orphania, the prospective search for projects, in close collaboration with Inserm Transfert; Studia, the experimental risk assessment phase, benefiting from the expertise of Institut Imagine; Leadia, with the creation of intellectual property. The prospecting of subjects and the identification of medicine candidates related to rare diseases are possible at national level thanks to the support of Inserm Transfert.
Today, this programme, which has been validated and tested by MEDETIA for 4 years, is supported in its development by a new global pharmacological partner: Ipsen.
Ipsen, an international biopharmaceutical group focused on the development of innovative medicines in oncology, rare diseases and neurosciences, has a philosophy of integrating research projects in an anticipatory manner, to be at the heart of innovation. The early identification and evaluation of new projects made available through this new partnership will facilitate the development of medicine that bring realistic and concrete improvements to rare disease patients.
Ultimately, MEDETIA's Hybridge program aims to evaluate more than 50 projects per year, to identify, experimentally validate and patent 1-3 projects per year, funded by Ipsen through this partnership.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Medetia to continue accelerating the development of next-generation transformative solutions for rare disease”, said Christelle Huguet, SVP, Head of Research, External Innovation and Early Development. “At Ipsen, we believe that great partnerships create great possibilities. By joining the collective R&D firepower of Ipsen and the extensive drug discovery and medicinal chemistry experience of Medetia, we hope to break the limits of current clinical understanding, to bring treatments for people living with rare diseases. We have been deeply committed to improving outcomes for people living with cancer, rare disease and neurological conditions for the past 100 years and, leveraging our precision focus, we will continue for the next 100.”
About Medetia
Medetia is a young biotech company specialized in therapeutic research on rare diseases, located at Institut Imagine (Institute of Genetic Diseases) in Paris. For the past 4 years, Medetia's 8 researchers have been proposing preclinical research projects based on a pharmacological (small molecule) approach for the treatment of genetic diseases with loss of gene function. Medetia has developed its own medicinal research platform combining chemical design and machine learning, coupled with a phenotypic screening methodology using high content microscopy. Medetia has initially focused on a specific medical field (renal and retinal ciliopathies in children) in collaboration with several teams at the Imagine Institute with the advancement of a first molecule MDT-110, scheduled for clinical trials in 2 years. Based on this experience of partnership with the INSERM teams of the Institute, Medetia has developed its research approach (HybridgeTM program) on other rare medical fields, by including pharmaceutical companies at the heart of its partnerships.
More information : https://medetia.com/ ou jean-philippe.annereau@medetia.com
About Institut Imagine
Located on the campus of the Necker-Enfants malades hospital, the Institut Imagine is a world leader in research, care and teaching on genetic diseases. Its unique architecture, designed by Jean Nouvel and Bernard Valéro, brings together 1,000 researchers, physicians, teacher-researchers, engineers and health care personnel in a single location to work with patients, with the ambition of accelerating research and diagnosis and therapeutic innovation to change the lives of families affected by genetic diseases. The Institut Imagine has been certified “Institut hospitalo universitaire” (IHU), in 2011 and 2019 and a “Institut Carnot”, in 2020. It is supported by six founding members, including AP-HP, Inserm and Université Paris Cité, as well as by private partners and patrons. Every day in France, 64 babies are born with a genetic disease. Nearly 8,000 genetic diseases affect more than 3 million people, of which nearly one in two is undiagnosed and more than 8 in 10 have no dedicated treatment. Faced with this public health emergency, the challenge is twofold: to diagnose and to cure.
For Institut Imagine
Agence PRPA, Anne Pezet – anne.pezet@prpa.fr – 06 87 59 03 88
Institut Imagine, Anne Lenoir – anne.lenoir@institutimagine.org – 06 11 21 19 04
Marie de Bazelaire - marie.de-bazelaire@institutimagine.org
About Inserm Transfert
Inserm Transfert, a private subsidiary of Inserm, is in charge of the valorisation and innovations of Inserm and its academic partners in human health and promotes long-term technology transfers according to international best practices. Founded in 2000, Inserm Transfert SA manages, under a public service concession, the entire development and transfer of knowledge from Inserm's research laboratories to the industrial world, from invention declaration to industrial partnership and company creation. Inserm Transfert also offers its services in the setting up and management of national, European and international projects, as well as support for the valorisation of clinical research and health data/databases and cohorts. Since 2009, Inserm Transfert and Inserm have had an investment capacity to finance proof of concept. In 2005, a seed fund dedicated to life sciences was created, Inserm Transfert Initiative. Since 2017, a pre-entrepreneurial pathway has accompanied founding scientists in their business creation project. To find out more about this program, click here: www.inserm-transfert.com
For Inserm Transfert:
Agence Acorelis – Gilles Petitot – 06 20 27 65 94 – gilles.petitot@acorelis
Ingrid Hargot – 01 55 03 01 44 - communication@inserm-transfert.fr