Ariana Pharma Partner of the IMODI Project Dedicated to Enabling Personalized Medicine Approaches for Oncology Announces €1.2 Million Funding
IMODI (Innovative Models Initiative) is one of the largest national collaborative projects in health in France, with a total cost estimated at €41M. Its goal is to enable the development of new drugs and personalized medicine approaches in cancer by creating an industrial-scale pipeline that characterizes, standardizes and makes use of predictive cancer models.
"It is now essential that the effectiveness of research and patient treatments be improved while sharply reducing the risks of side effects. IMODI and Ariana Pharma share the goal of facilitating the selection of new and effective treatments using a personalized medicine approach. Our solutions will make it possible to identify biomarker combinations that are impossible to detect using traditional statistical methods and to optimize data so as to best use them for patients," said Mohammad Afshar, CEO of Ariana Pharma.
Starting with the experimental data generated by the program, Ariana will develop algorithms that identify signals associated with cancer and implement them into predictive tools, thereby improving patient management. Ariana will also contribute its expertise in complex data analysis: the company will deploy its innovative KEM® (Knowledge Extraction & Management) technology, used by the FDA in the United States since 2010, to analyze pharmacogenomic data in tandem with patient characteristics.
Using Ariana Pharma's technology, IMODI will develop diagnostic tests that match each individual patient to the appropriate treatment. The concept of personalized medicine is the cornerstone of the IMODI project, which will receive a public investment of €13.4 million. Ariana Pharma will create powerful predictive tools to identify tumour, immunological and microbiotic biomarkers, and will also contribute its expertise to the establishment of a centralized biobank.
The IMODI project is coordinated by Oncodesign and brings together four SMEs[1] (including Ariana Pharma), six industrial groups[2] and seven academic institutions[3].
About Ariana Pharma
Ariana Pharma develops innovative data analysis and diagnostic testing solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries. The company's solutions enable pharmaceutical and biotech companies and CROs to better adapt patient treatments to individual biological characteristics. This improves the effectiveness of research and of patient treatments while reducing the risks associated with the development of medicines. Ariana Pharma's KEM® technology makes it possible to personalize the choice and improve the efficacy and safety of patient treatment, while reducing the risks and costs associated with drug development and accelerating time to market. KEM® has been used by the FDA since 2010 for the purpose of developing more effective biomarkers for personalized medicine.
Founded in 2003 as a spin-off of the Pasteur Institute, the company opened a subsidiary in the United States in 2012.
For more information: www.arianapharma.com