Today, despite incredible advances in oncology, some drugs lack efficacy when used in combination. “This is especially true in certain types of cancer that have a very high mortality rate and for which more than 80% of immunotherapies fail.points out Marielle Péré, co-founder of the start-up CellEmax. We need new compounds that increase the effectiveness of existing treatments.”
Mariel Perre, Innovation Transfer Engineer (INRIA), co-founder of the start-up CellEmax, holds a doctorate in mathematics applied to cancer biology.Photo Sophie Casals.
How to increase the effectiveness of treatment?
Within the start-up CellEmax*, a solid team of 7 researchers with 2 research laboratories (Inria and the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology of the CNRS) is doing research. Molecular origins of tumor cell resistance to therapy.
“The first step in creating new drugs is the discovery of therapeutic targets, that is, a molecule in our body (a protein, a gene, etc.) involved in a mechanism of cancer action, Deciphers the scientist. In our case we are targeting the ability of cancer cells to evade the immune system and continue treatment. By targeting our therapeutic targets with new active ingredients, we will re-sensitize cancer cells to the immune system and anti-cancer treatments that reactivate this immune system to better eliminate tumor cells.”
The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered discovery platform they are developing aims to identify next-generation therapeutic targets and thus enable biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. “To create more effective drug compounds in the preclinical phase.”
Laboratory tests
In the laboratory, they cultivate cells derived from human tumors in petri dishes.
“We are working on cancer cell lines and deepening our knowledge, to explain how they respond to immune system molecules and therapeutic molecules.”
Then, they use mathematical models to predict whether the cells will be sensitive or resistant to the molecules. They differentiate sensitive cells from resistant cells.
“We sequence them to compare the profiles,” explains Jeremy Roux, co-founder of CelliMax and researcher at the CNRS Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology (IPMC). We obtain a map that makes it possible to derive from this profile a large number of therapeutic targets that are likely to have a beneficial effect on the tumor cell response and thus improve treatment efficacy.
Jérémie Roux, CNRS-Laboratoire IPMC researcher, co-founder of CellEmax. Photo Sophie Casals.
When is the most effective treatment?
Their aim is: late 2024, early 2025 “Sell therapeutic target tests and form partnerships with manufacturers so they can develop new treatment combinations.”
“By reusing known molecules we can envision the first results by 2030.”
His dream: to find targets for which pharmaceutical laboratories already have molecules available. And Jeremy Roux explains “The industry may contain molecules (used to treat other pathologies) that will act and increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment.” True hope for cancer patients.
* CellEmax benefits from the continued support of Inria’s laboratories and the Institute of Molecular Pharmacology, as well as the PACA Cancer Center, which funds them.
