Daix, France, September 19, 2016 - Inventiva, an emerging biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies to treat especially fibrosis, today announces that it has been awarded two grants totaling €2.3 million for the YAP/TEAD research program. The first grant, for €1.5 million, was from the European EUROSTARS program, a joint program between EUREKA and the European Commission supporting international innovative R&D projects led by small and medium-sized enterprises. The second grant, for €0.8 million, was from the Agence Nationale de Recherche (ANR), the French national research agency. These grants will support the further development of Inventiva’s YAP/TEAD protein research program through the TheraYAP and Hippocure drug development consortiums, respectively.
The YAP/TEAD program aims to interrupt the interactions between two proteins, YAP and TEAD, which interact in a cell’s nucleus to regulate the genes responsible for the proliferation and death of cells. The program is based on molecules developed and patented by Inventiva that have demonstrated substantial antiproliferative activity in various cancerous cells and could have significant therapeutic potential for treating malignant mesothelioma cancer and severe forms of lung, colon, ovarian, and gastric cancer.
“The grants awarded by EUROSTARS and the ANR underscore the significant potential of our technology, as well as the scientific community’s interest in our innovative approach targeting the YAP/TEAD transcription factors. Working collaboratively with other industry leaders, we intend to accelerate the development of our YAP/TEAD program in order to provide new therapeutic solutions to the thousands of patients with malignant mesothelioma cancer and other severe forms of cancer,” said Pierre Broqua, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Inventiva.
The 33-month TheraYAP consortium focuses on the development of a drug candidate and companion biomarkers for malignant mesothelioma cancer and other severe forms of lung and breast cancers. In addition to Inventiva, the TheraYAP consortium includes Xen Tech, a global specialist in human tumor xenografts, and Atrys Health, a prominent player in personalized oncology.
The 30-month Hippocure consortium aims to identify synergies between the molecules patented by Inventiva and lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma current treatments in order to develop combination therapies In addition to Inventiva, this consortium also includes the prestigious Institut Curie cancer research center in France.
“While fibrosis is our primary therapeutic focus, with the clinical development of our IVA 337 drug candidate in NASH1 and systemic scleroderma, the progress in the YAP/TEAD program is a testament to our technology’s potential in other large therapeutic areas, such as oncology. YAP/TEAD is a target of considerable interest for numerous cancers, and we are confident that our collaborations within the TheraYAP and Hippocure consortiums will accelerate the discovery and development of efficient YAP/TEAD inhibitors,” concluded Frédéric Cren, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Inventiva.
About Inventiva: www.inventivapharma.com
Inventiva is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development of drugs interacting with nuclear receptors, transcription factors and epigenetic modulators. Inventiva’s research engine opens up novel breakthrough therapies against fibrotic diseases, cancers and orphan diseases with substantial unmet medical needs.
IVA337, its lead product, is an anti-fibrotic treatment with a unique mechanism of action going through the activation of all three alpha, gamma and delta PPARs (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors), which play key roles in controlling the fibrotic process. Its anti-fibrotic action targets two initial indications with substantial unmet medical need: NASH, a severe and increasingly prevalent liver disease already affecting over 30 million people in the United States2, and systemic sclerosis, a disease with a very high mortality rate and for which there is no approved treatment to date.
Inventiva is also developing IVA336, a clinical program for the treatment of three different forms of mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS I or Hurler-Sheie syndrome, MPS II or Sly syndrome and MPS VI also known as Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome), as well as a preclinical stage oncology portfolio.
Inventiva benefits from two partnerships with world-leading research entities such as the Institut Curie. Two strategic partnerships have also been put in place with AbbVie and Boehringer Ingelheim, making Inventiva eligible for preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, in addition to royalties on the products resulting from these partnerships.
Inventiva employs over 100 highly qualified employees and owns state-of-the-art R&D facilities near Dijon, acquired from the international pharmaceutical group Abbott. The Company owns, a proprietary library
