SATT Nord and Lille University Hospital have signed an exclusive license agreement with Hemerion Therapeutics for the exploitation of a new anti-cancer technology developed at Lille University Hospital and the Inserm ONCOTHAI laboratory (UMR 1189).
Glioblastoma is currently the most common malignant brain tumor in adults, with 20,000 cases per year in Europe. It remains the third leading cause of cancer death in young adults (between 15 and 35 years of age). It is an incurable tumor with a survival rate of less than 18 months with conventional treatment. Today, the standard treatment is based on surgery, brain radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
Hemerion Therapeutics, a start-up born out of academic research in Lille Created at the Lille University Hospital, this innovative technology is the result of a successful collaboration between the team led by Prof. S. MORDON of the OncoThAI U1189 unit (Inserm, University of Lille, Lille University Hospital), Prof. REYNS, neurosurgeon, medical physicists, and researchers at the University Hospital. It embodies the shared ambition to provide glioblastoma patients with a unique solution capable of significantly prolonging their life expectancy.
This innovation combines a photosensitizing pharmacological agent with laser light to eliminate tumor cells while preserving healthy tissue. Already used in dermatology and for certain ovarian cancers, this therapy could eventually lead to better treatment of glioblastoma.
A major challenge in the treatment of glioblastoma Currently being developed by Hemerion, this technology is particularly promising in the treatment of this brain cancer. It does not replace surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy: it integrates perfectly with these current treatments, complementing them and improving the effectiveness of care. The development of a technique such as this should minimize surgical risk and
limit the risk of tumor recurrence, which is currently very high.
"This innovation in cancer treatment combines biotechnology, photonics, and medicine. It is a remarkable illustration of our magnificent ability to develop new medical and healthcare practices on our campus. The Lille University Hospital's research strategy is to support researchers, anticipate tomorrow's therapeutic solutions, and accompany economic and societal changes in healthcare. Innovations such as this one play a decisive role in improving the service we provide to our patients," explains Frédéric BOIRON, Director General of the Lille University Hospital.
The OncoThAI unit's Dosindygo project was selected as part of a call for expressions of interest launched by SATT Nord and the Rare Diseases Foundation to identify emerging projects with high potential for innovation and technology transfer. It thus benefited from support from SATT Nord in developing and improving the illumination prototype in compliance with the regulations governing this type of device.
Fabrice LEFEBVRE, President of SATT Nord, is delighted with the signing of this license: "It is SATT Nord's role to support the emergence of new therapies, such as the one resulting from the Dosyndigo project and discovered by the OncoThAI team. The collaboration with the Rare Diseases Foundation has led to the emergence of concrete projects to promote medical research excellence, to which we are actively contributing, in order to bring real hope to thousands of patients."
Following the promising results of this research, an exclusive license to exploit the technology was signed with the start-up Hemerion Therapeutics, founded and led by Maximilien Vermandel, one of the researchers who developed the technology.
"Over the past 10 years, our technology has reached several major milestones, including a clinical trial clinical trial conducted at Lille University Hospital since 2017, the results of which will be published in 2021. We continue to develop it as part of several research projects recognized by the national i-Lab competition, organized by the Ministry of Research and Higher Education and BPI France. The creation of Hemerion responds responds to the need to widely disseminate our technologies so that as many patients as possible around the world," said Maximilien VERMANDEL, CEO of Hemerion Therapeutics.