“The IHU's know-how, fundamental research platforms and pre-clinical and clinical facilities are unique in France. By joining forces, the region's existing development teams will enable us to rapidly transform scientific discoveries into innovative products and services.” commented Atlanpole Chief Executive Jean-François Balducchi. "The innovation model promoted by the IHU has been running in Nantes for almost 20 years now; it's founded on spinning out biotech companies on the basis of new scientific knowledge. These privately funded start-ups serve as the vehicles for the initial steps in economic development. If a company grows, it can be floated on the stock market (as was the case for Vivalis) in order to raise funds and fuel further growth on its own or it can sign an alliance with a big pharma company for the final steps in product development. This research exploitation model is at the heart of the pharma industry's R&D strategy and is being deployed worldwide in drug discovery. In France, Nantes is certainly up there with the leaders!", he added.
Within the framework of the official IHU tender, the first collaboration agreements have been signed with multinational pharma companies (including Novartis and Roche), local authorities (the Pays de Loire Regional Council and Nantes Metropolitan Council), the French Muscular Dystrophy Association (Association Française contre les Myopathies, AFM), the French cystic fibrosis charity Vaincre la Muco’ and the biopharmaceutical companies LFB and Grimaud group. The list is growing, in view of the many biotechnological applications of the IHU's work - particular on stem cells, the development of a breed of pig for medical use in cornea and pancreatic islets transplants of type I diabetes (a European new joint project- collaboration with the Grimaud group and Hypharm), gene and cell therapies more generally, diagnostic tests in personalized medicine and, lastly, telemedicine for monitoring transplant recipients. These applications will have major medical and economic impacts over the next five years.
The IHU's 1,200 staff (including 225 lab researchers and 148 clinical researchers), 9 SMEs (with over 200 employees) and the collaborating pharma companies are already fully committed to this dynamic new initiative which, in combination with the IHU's investment support, is expected to generate significant outputs in the next five years:
- the development of an innovative biotherapy for immunoregulation.
- with a potentially global market.
- creation of several high-potential biotech companies.
- increased export sales growth for the SMEs involved in the IHU.
- 30 patents and their corresponding licensing agreements.
- reinforced collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry.
“Investment of nearly €30 million over 5 years has already been secured”, emphasized Professor Magali Giral, the IHU's Biomedical Innovation Director. She went on to say that “The IHU's cutting-edge research projects will represent a total budget of €130 million in the 4-5 years following the institute's creation, with half of this sum likely to be sourced from the private sector. The IHU initiative is well and truly underway!”.
About the Nantes IHU project
The Nantes University, Nantes University Hospital, the Nantes National Veterinary School (Oniris), Nantes urban area and the region Pays de la Loire intend to create a University Hospital Institute (Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire, IHU) called the "European Centre for Transplantation Sciences and Immunotherapy". This patient-centered translational research project is focused on curing diseases by the transplantation of organs, cells and genes and by opening up new frontiers in regenerative medicine, with a strong unifying bond: immunology. The TSI-IHU project (led by Professor Jean-Paul Soulillou and involving over 1000 staff) is establishing itself as Europe's leading program in the transplantation sciences, Europe's busiest centre for kidney transplants and leading pancreas transplant centre and one of the most visible places in gene and cell therapy in France (in collaboration with the AFM). The TSI-IHU project combines clinical laboratories (5 joint INSERM and INRA/university units), Nantes National Veterinary School and university groups. For the first time in Europe, TSI-IHU brings together research groups working on not only organ and hematopoietic cell transplantation but also new frontiers in transplantation: allo- and xenogenic cells and "gene drugs".
The project envisions the creation of new companies and over 800 highly qualified jobs. Key partnerships have been signed with biotech firms (9 of which were founded within the IHU's boundaries) and leading pharmaceutical groups including the Grimaud group, LFB, Roche and Novartis.
Press contacts
ALIZE RP Caroline Carmagnol + 33 664 189959 caroline@alizerp.com Anne-Sophie Cosquéric + 33 142 688642 anne-sophie@alizerp.com
Nantes University Hospital Sandrine Delage + 33 240 087209 sandrine.delage@chu-nantes.fr Atlanpole Biotherapies Emilie Ménoury +33 2 40 25 26 36 menoury@atlanpole.fr
