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CRISPALDin Project

Advanced BioDesign and the Inserm TAGC laboratory will receive a total of €208,000 to support the development of their CRISPALDHin project over the next two years.
CRISPALDHin project aims at developing adaptive and personalised treatments targeting multiple genomic alterations involving aldehyde dehydrogenases 1 (ALDH 1) which are at the root of cancer resistance.

Lyon, 21st September 2022 – Advanced BioDesign, a French biotechnology company specialized in the development of a new therapy against cancers resisting standard treatments, and the TAGC (Theories and Approaches to Genomic Complexity) laboratory (U1090 University Aix-Marseille) will receive €208,000 in funding from the Relaunch France plan for their collaborative work on the CRISPALDHin project.

This financial support from the Government represents 25% of the total cost (which amounts to €851,000) of CRISPALDHin project, starting in September 2022 for a duration of two years. It will allow, on the one hand, to set up a highly complementary multidisciplinary team and, on the other hand, to establish a collaboration between the public and private sectors able to combine rapidly the results of the research with the clinical phase.

CRISPALDHin project will focus on highly synergistic genomic approaches and translate them into combination therapies for patients with lung and breast cancers resistant to current therapies.

Advanced BioDesign's expertise and leadership in the development of ALDH-specific inhibitors (ALDHi) was a key factor in securing this funding. Advanced BioDesign is the first company integrating these compounds into clinical research through its ODYSSEY study, approved for phase I and starting in France this year.

As Dr Salvatore Spicuglia, Scientific Director of the TAGC laboratory (Inserm - UMR 1090), points out, "This funding represents additional support from the French government and a unique opportunity to address complex unmet clinical needs in resistant cancers.  The specific objectives of this research programme are to identify synergistic interactions between ALDHi and altered genes in resistant cancers, but also to identify the most promising pathways and translate them into therapeutic combinations between ALDHi and treatments already existing and authorised on the market.”

Dr. Mileidys Perez, Scientific Director of Advanced Biodesign: “Alterations in ALDH occur in a wide range of cancers, highlighting its crucial role in tumor progression and as an appropriate therapeutic target.” As such, “this collaborative project combines the power of the most advanced applied science involving CRISPR-cas9 technology, a new and powerful tool for precise modification of DNA, and the uniqueness of Advanced BioDesign's ALDH inhibitors, with an integrative research strategy capable of providing new breakthrough treatments for certain types of refractory tumours.”

Ismail Ceylan, CEO of Advanced BioDesign said, "I am proud and pleased that we have distinguished ourselves with this project which represents a significant consolidation of our partnership with Inserm, existing since 2013[1]. The two researchers recruited specifically for this project will be able to acquire new skills in order to add value to our company's global programme".

"This grant, the strengthening of the collaboration with Inserm and the continued support of our long-standing investor Xerys Invest, consolidate Advanced BioDesign's therapeutic approach to treat resistant cancers" adds Ismail Ceylan, founder and CEO of Advanced BioDesign, who explains: “Through access to Inserm's various technological platforms and the genomics expertise of Dr Spicuglia and his team, we will be able to refine the design of therapies based on the use of ALDHi inhibitors, adapted to lung and breast cancers".

[1] The partnership between Advanced BioDesign and Inserm includes other large-scale projects such as Sefaldin 2013-2016, ENHPATHY 2020-2023

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About Advanced BioDesign

Advanced BioDesign is a French biotechnology company developing an innovative therapeutic approach against resistant cancers, with a first indication in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Its lead anti-cancer compound, DIMATE, is a first-in-class suicide inhibitor of aldehyde dehydrogenases 1 (ALDH1). The ALDH enzyme allows cancer cells to detoxify themselves by recycling potentially damaging molecules. By inhibiting this enzyme, DIMATE induces apoptosis of the cancer cell without damaging healthy cells at therapeutic doses. Its clinical formulation ABD-3001 is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 clinical trials in AML. Founded in 2010 and based in Saint-Priest near Lyon (France), Advanced BioDesign is collaborating with Prof. Régis Costello at the AP-HM (Marseille) who is the principal investigator of the human study.

Advanced BioDesign is supported by the Xerys Invest fund, which has been financing its research and development programmes since 2013. To date, more than €20 millions have been invested.

For more information: www.a-biodesign.com ; LinkedIn

For more information: https://xerys.com/advanced-biodesign/

 

About Inserm U1090

The Inserm U1090 unit entitled Theories and Approaches to Genomic Complexity (TAGC), located in the Luminy Science Park in Marseille, has scientific and technological expertise in the fields of functional genomics, bioinformatics and integrative biology. Dr. Salvatore Spicuglia's team has a strong experience in large-scale approaches to genome studies, including those based on CRISPR screens.

 

Media contact: FTI Consulting – Estelle Forfert

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |Mobile: +33(0)7 71 50 71 38

 

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