InBrain Pharma, a Lille-based start-up supported by SATT Nord de biotechnologie that develops therapeutic solutions for brain diseases, has received authorization from the French National Agency for Medicines Safety (ANSM) to treat its first patients with Parkinson's disease using its DIVE (Dopamine IntracerebroVentriculairE) technology (phase I/IIb study).
Parkinson's disease is characterized by a deficiency of dopamine in the brain. The concept developed by InBrain Pharma involves administering the missing dopamine in a controlled and localized manner, adapting it to the physiological needs of the brain, similar to the administration of insulin to treat diabetes. This therapeutic innovation could thus improve the quality of life of patients with Parkinson's disease at a stage when oral dopaminergic treatments are no longer satisfactory.
The success of this project is the result of more than ten years of academic and industrial research conducted by the team led by Prof. David Devos (Medical Pharmacology, Lille University Hospital, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition University, Inserm, UMR-S1172), Prof. Caroline Moreau (Parkinson's Disease Expert Center) and Prof. Pascal Odou's team (Research Group on Injectable Forms and Associated Technologies). Since its creation in July 2018, the entire InBrain Pharma team has been working hard to ensure that this therapeutic trial gets off to the best possible start.
Thanks to the excellence and social utility of its research, InBrain Pharma has benefited from the support of the entire Hauts-de-France ecosystem:
- the University of Lille
- Lille University Hospital (including the Department of Medical Pharmacology and the Central Pharmacy)
- the University of Lille Foundation
- SATT Nord
- the Hauts-de-France region
- Northern France Priming
- FINOVAM
- Eurasanté
This DIVE-1 study will begin with the first 20 patients in the coming weeks, in close
collaboration with Lille University Hospital (Parkinson's Disease Expert Center, Medical Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacy, Research and Innovation Department, Clinical Investigation Center).
Following this initial project, InBrain Pharma will develop other innovative strategies to combat brain diseases and improve patients' lives in the long term.