Technology transfer & start-ups

Founded in Bordeaux in 2013, Aelis Farma is a biopharmaceutical company that is developing a new class of drugs, the Signaling-Specific inhibitors of the CB1 receptor of the endocannabinoid system (CB1-SSi). CB1- SSi have been developed by Aelis Farma based on the discovery of a natural regulatory mechanism of CB1 hyperactivity made by the team led by Dr. Pier Vincenzo Piazza, the Company’s CEO, when he was the director of the Neurocentre Magendie of INSERM in Bordeaux.

 By mimicking this natural mechanism, CB1- SSi appear to selectively inhibit the disease-related activity of the CB1 receptor without disrupting its normal physiological activity. CB1-SSi have consequently the potential to provide new safe treatments for several brain diseases.

Aelis Farma is currently developing two first-in-class clinical-stage drug candidates: AEF0117 for the treatment of cannabis related disorders, that has just completed a Phase 2B study in the United States in CUD, and AEF0217 for cognitive disorders, including those of Down syndrome (Trisomy 21), that has just completed recruitment in a Phase 1/2 study in Spain in people with Down syndrome, with results expected in Q4 2024.

 The Company also has a portfolio of new innovative CB1-SSi for the treatment of other disorders associated with a dysregulation of the activity of the CB1 receptor. The different drugs developed by the Company belong to the same general pharmacological class, the CB1-SSi, but have distinct functional effects allowing to target different types of dysregulations of the CB1 receptor.

 Aelis Farma draws on the talents of more than 25 highly qualified employees.

 For more information, visit www.aelisfarma.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Fluofarma was hosted at the IECB from 2003 to 2019.

Created in 2003 by former IECB team leaders, Fluofarma is a preclinical contract research organization specialized in providing tailored services in cell biology and high content analysis, an approach highly solicited in association with predictive tools and cell-based models, thereby fulfilling pharmaceutical industry requirements to optimize the drug discovery pipeline. Fluofarma’s expertise include in vitro disease models, cell-cell interaction models, assay development, and tissue analysis, all combined with the latest technologies in automated flow cytometry, high content imaging, live imaging, and high content histology.

In 2015, Fluofarma has been acquired by Porsolt SAS, a long established preclinical CRO with an international reputation for expertise in physio-pathological models. The acquisition of Fluofarma complements Porsolt’s extensive drug discovery portfolio of services and capabilities addressing multiple stages of the drug discovery process

Novaptech was hosted at the IECB from 2008 to 2013.

A technology transfer unit initialy hosted in IECB, Novaptech, was created in 2008 by an IECB team leader:

http://www.novaptech.com/?lang=1

Aptamers are relevant biotechnological tools in many fields : health, cosmetics, environmental sciences (enzyme inhibitor, label, probe, biosensor...). In 2005, the IECB team “Small RNA & Aptamers” (INSERM U869) assembled the first automated platform for aptamer selection in France, an equipement that speeds up the selection from 3 months to 2 weeks. In order to develop biotechnological applications of aptamers, the team created Novaptech, it was initialy a technology transfer unit associated to the lab. Since 2017 Novaptech is a society and has been collaborating with academic and private labs, using aptamer-based tools against proteins, peptides, small molecules, toxins or nucleic acids