Nantes, France, June 17, 2011 - The biotech company TcLand Expression is pleased to announce the financial support awarded by Oseo and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the validation study of the first companion diagnostic test in rheumatoid arthritis. The program is mainly dedicated to setting up a prospective European multicentre clinical trial to validate the diagnostic performance of a molecular test to predict non-response to anti-TNF treatment (in particular infliximab Remicade®) in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients.
This test will have a major impact on patients suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis, a chronic disease that affects one in a hundred people in western countries. Studies have shown that as much as 30% of RA patients do not respond or respond adequately to TNF inhibitors, a burden for healthcare systems that will reach several billion euros in the coming decade. The test could therefore become a cornerstone to prevent therapeutic failure and allows clinicians to immediately select an alternative treatment for their patients.
“We greatly acknowledge support and trust given by Oseo over the years, their grant together with the ERDF grant will reinforce and accelerate the validation of our test, making it possible to include large international cohorts”, says Marina Guillet, VP Head of Laboratory. The test was developed using blood samples from cohorts of European, US and Japanese patients. The opportunity to clinically validate the test on patients from different continents will allow TcLand Expression to target international markets.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
One of the major public health concerns, rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, progressive, debilitating auto- immune disease that affects approximately 1% of the worldwide population. Despite the important advancements concerning the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis during the past 10 years, many patients remain partial responders and true remission is achieved by only a minority. A major goal in the field is thus to predict response to treatment prior to starting a new therapy, in order to optimize patient care, reduce the risk of adverse effects or joint destruction and to positively influence healthcare systems in terms of overall costs.
TcLand Expression
TcLand Expression is a recognized pioneer in the discovery, development and validation of gene expression biomarkers for unmet medical needs in immunology. The company benefits from an exceptional scientific and clinical environment. For more information, please visit our website: www.tcland-expression.com
OSEO & FEDER
Oseo is a public French institution, who finance innovative projects brought by SME’s. Oseo gives consultant advice and bring the required financing tools all along the project development cycle towards the commercialization of its products.
Oseo works in a tight network of partner at the european, national and local level.
(http://www.oseo.fr/international )
The Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund are financial tools set up to implement the Cohesion policy also referred to as the Regional policy of the European Union. As part of its task to promote regional development, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) contributes towards financing the measures such as: innovation and knowledge economy (research & technological development, innovation & entrepreneurship, financial engineering).
Press Contacts
TcLand Expression
Alain Huriez, DG
+33 2 40 35 89 99
ahuriez@tcland-expression.com
Alize RP
Caroline Carmagnol
+ 33 6 64 18 99 59
caroline@alizerp.com
OSEO
Vanessa Godet
+33 1 41 79 84 33
vanessa.godet@oseo.fr
Anne-Sophie Cosquéric
+33 1 42 68 86 41
anne-sophie@alizerp.com
