QUANTUM GENOMICS : Creation of a joint Inserm-Quantum Genomics laboratory at the Collège de France backed by the French National Agency for Research (ANR)

information fournie par Actusnews •17/03/2015 à 18:45

• Under the leadership of Dr Catherine Llorens-Cortes, Research Director for the INSERM (the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research) and winner of the Prix Galien France 2014

Quantum Genomics (Alternext - FR0011648971 - ALQGC) , ) , a biopharmaceutical company with the mission of developing new therapies for unmet medical needs in the field of cardiovascular diseases, announces the creation of a joint laboratory with the INSERM laboratory led by Catherine Llorens-Cortes at the Collège de France.

Within this joint laboratory, referred to as CARDIOBAPAI, Quantum Genomics and the “Central Neuropeptides in the Regulation of Body Fluid Homeostasis and Cardiovascular Functions” team, led by Dr Catherine Llorens-Cortes, leading Research Director for the INSERM at the Collège de France and winner of the Prix Galien France 2014 for pharmaceutical research, will pool their expertise to carry out cross-sectional research on the innovative therapeutic platform developed by Quantum Genomics, i.e. Brain Aminopeptidase A Inhibitors (BAPAIs).

This collaboration will enable Quantum Genomics to enhance its knowledge on BAPAIs, while the company starts a phase IIa clinical trial for QGC001, its most advanced drug candidate in the fight against high blood pressure.

The joint CARDIOBAPAI laboratory has been approved by the French National Agency for Research (ANR), which will provide a subsidy of 300K€ for three years (2015 to 2017).

Lionel Ségard, CEO of Quantum Genomics, states:

“The approval by the ANR of our collaborative work with the INSERM laboratory led by Dr. Catherine Llorens-Cortes makes it possible to enhance the research and development structure we put in place at the Collège de France. Quantum Genomics plans to recruit two additional researchers this year to accelerate its research programmes”.

The CARDIOBAPAI laboratory work, which combines molecular modelling and biology, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry and in vivo pharmacology, will more specifically target the programme of combination with other antihypertensive agents, new indications and a better knowledge of the mechanism of action.

The laboratory will enable some of the regular staff at the Collège de France, post-PhD researchers and PhD students from the team led by Dr Catherine Llorens-Cortes, to work together with the Quantum Genomics' research team. The company plans to enhance its team by recruiting a researcher specialised in pharmacology and another specialised in medicinal chemistry. Placed under the leadership of Catherine Llorens-Cortes, the laboratory will therefore bring together molecular modellers, chemists, molecular biologists and pharmacologists under one roof.

More specifically, the laboratory will benefit from the combination of Dr Catherine Llorens-Cortes' scientific expertise, whose research work is at the heart of BAPAIs, with that of Fabrice Balavoine, Quantum Genomics' Research & Development Director, in the design and development of new drug candidates.

What's more, the laboratory will work closely with the Clinical Investigation Centre of the Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, managed by Professor Michel Azizi, main investigator in the phase IIa clinical trial on the drug candidate QGC001 initiated by Quantum Genomics.

A steering committee, made up of Catherine Llorens-Cortes, Fabrice Balavoine and Lionel Ségard, CEO of Quantum Genomics, will meet on a quarterly basis to monitor the science and budget of the programme.