E-zyvec, a young start-up founded in October 2016, has just signed a license agreement with SATT Nord for the development and commercialization of a new method for assembling functional DNA fragments to produce customized modular gene expression vectors.
Thanks to the modularity of this technology, e-Zyvec will be able to offer genetic engineering solutions to players in the biological research, pharmaceutical, and agri-food sectors in the form of services that include both expertise and consulting, as well as the production of sophisticated DNA molecules with fully customizable genetic content.
This project, developed by the Structural and Functional Glycobiology Laboratory (UGSF), a joint research unit of the University of Lille 1 and the CNRS, was the subject of a maturation program from 2015 to 2016 by SATT Nord for a total of €140,000, enabling the recruitment of a maturation engineer to refine the technology and file a patent protecting this innovative method of assembling DNA fragments.
"Our technology allows us to respond precisely to the individual needs of each of our customers, bypassing the vast majority of restrictions inherent in alternative technologies. The streamlining of our process also allows us to produce high-throughput, low-cost molecules that are nevertheless tailor-made." Carine de Bettignies – Managing Director, e-Zyvec
It was the meeting in 2013 between Sylvain Julien (CNRS researcher) and Geoffroy De Bettignies (senior lecturer) around a genetic engineering issue that led to the launch of a collaboration that resulted in the creation of a service open to all biologists. The arrival of Carine De Bettignies in 2015 and the support of SATT Nord led to the creation of the company e-Zyvec, incubated at Eurasanté. In January 2017, the company received financial support from the LMI Innovation association.
"Commercially, we want to capture 20% of the high-end gene expression vector market in Europe (€2.5 million) within the next five years. Professionally, we also want to become a model for promoting French research in several ways: through technology transfer from academia to our start-up, through our career change from researchers to entrepreneurs, and through our ability to contribute to the overall effort in biological research through our value proposition." Sylvain Julien – President, e-Zyvec
Find all the information on the start-up's LinkedIn page by clicking here.
Press contact: SATT Nord: Caroline Brillant – caroline.brillant@sattnord.fr – Tel: +33 (0)7 76 71 71 13
E-zyvec: Sylvain Julien – sylvain.julien@e-zyvec.fr