Nosobio : support of Oséo-France for its antibiotic program

July 3rd 2009 - Palumed received a support of Oséo-France for its antibiotic program- Oséo decided to support a consortium "Nosobio", composed of 4 biotech companies (Palumed, DaVolterra, Serial Genetics, Genewave) and two academic teams from Beaujon Hospital-Paris and the Pasteur Institut, focused on the fight of nosocomial infections. Three different approaches are developed by the consortium: prevention, diagnostic and therapy. The support of Oséo will help Palumed to develop its anti-MRSA drug-candidate, the vancomyquine® PA1409 over a 3-year period (2009-2011)... Palumed's Press Release - communiqué de presse de Palumed - Genewave's Press Release - PDF du communiqué de presse Genewave -

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About Palumed

PALUMED S. A. is a young company founded in December 2000 to create and develop new antimalarial agents and new antibacterial molecules.

PALUMED has been named after "paludisme", the french word for malaria. PALUMED is co-owner of 6 patent applications filed between 2003 and 2007: two on antimalarials (trioxaquines®), one on new anti-schistosomiase agents, two on new antibiotics (antibioquines®) and one on new copper chelating agents... About Palumed -

Neorphys : new facility with extended space

August 2009 - Neorphys has relocated to a new facility with extended space... Neorphys' Press Releases -

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About Neorphys

Founded in September 2005 by Dr Roger LAHANA, CEO, and Karine LARBOURET, Director of Operations, Neorphys is a company which discovers and develops novel, proprietary analgesic drug candidates with low side effects, especially with regard to gastro-intestinal transit. This is why the most advanced drug candidate is developed for visceral pain management.

Beside the co-founders, Neorphys scientists, all PhD’s or equivalent, share a strong expertise in opioids and acute pain as well as in behavioural pharmacology. They have a proven track record of success in using discovery techniques such as medicinal chemistry, cell biology, toxicology and relevant animal assays... About Neorphys -

Nanobiotix : ‘proof of concept’ for its nanoparticles in treating glioblastoma multiforme (brain cancer)

PARIS, April 6, 2009— Nanobiotix, an emerging nanomedicine company, announced that an independent preclinical study has validated the applicability of using its nanoparticles—nanoPDT—to treat glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most prevalent brain tumors. Nanobiotix expects to attract corporate partners for the development of nanoPDT as the Company focuses development efforts on its nanoXray technology... Nanobiotix's Press Release -

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About Nanobiotix

Nanobiotix is a nanomedicine company that intends to revolutionize radiotherapy, making it more deadly to tumors while preserving the surrounding healthy tissues.

The company is a spin-off of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo that has been incorporated in 2003 and has been primarily funded by leading European venture capital firms (Matignon Technologies, OTC Asset Management, Cap Decisif, Amorcage Rhone-Alpes).

Cancer is now becoming the leading cause of mortality in developing countries. 
Radiotherapy is the most common tool for cancer treatment and is used in 5,000,000 patients every year (representing 60% of total cancer patients)... more about Nanobiotix -

Pharmaxon : Hospital Mutual Insurance Company SHAM takes a stake in...

Marseille (France), 25 November 2009 - Pharmaxon, a biotechnology company that develops first-inclass neurological disease therapeutics targeting cell mobility, announced a capital increase of €1.7 million from Primaveris and the Lyon-based mutual insurance company, SHAM. This decision was approved at Pharmaxon’s annual general meeting on 28 September 2009.
After a first seed funding round of €440,000 (Inserm Transfert, Initiative, Esperante and Primaveris), together with €2.3 million in grants and public financing, the company raised a total of about €4.4 million since its inception.
This operation will mainly help Pharmaxon to finance the preclinical development of PR-21, its most advanced compound.
PR-21 is a cell mobility activator which is being developed to treat acute spinal cord injury. This orphan disease is currently only treated with corticoids whose side effects are unanimously recognized. By using PR-21, the final objective is to restore motivity and autonomic functions by speeding up the regrowth of axons.
After the validation of the proof-of-principle, PR-21 is now being assessed within the scope a preclinical toxicology study. The compound is expected to move into clinical development phase by January 2011...

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About Pharmaxon
Founded in 2004, Pharmaxon is a biotechnology company that develops first-in-class drugs based on the manipulation of cell mobility.
Pharmaxon's therapeutic targets contribute to the movements and the survival of neurons and are for this reason implied in many diseases and neurological cancers. Thus, the compounds of the company cover a large range of potential indications addressing a total market of several billion euros in neurology and oncology The pioneering work of Pharmaxon’s founding scientists and team has uncovered a new pharmacological mechanism modulating – either stimulating or inhibiting – cell mobility. This therapeutic approach has lead to the identification of two families of compounds having such abilities: cell mobility activators that target Acute Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and cell mobility inhibitors targeting Glioblastoma Multiforma (GBM), a brain tumors with poor prognosis.
After reaching “proof-of-principle”, Pharmaxon’s first SCI candidate, PR-21, is now undergoing
regulatory preclinical toxicity studies.
Thanks to the potential of its therapeutic approach, its international scientific network and its R&D know-how, Pharmaxon aims to become the leader in the cell mobility neurological field.
Pharmaxon is based in Marseille, France, and now has a staff of 9 scientists, including six with
Pharm.D. or Ph.D. degrees... [PDF] Pharmaxon's Press Release -

Provepharm : acceptance of Proveblue® injectable drug MAA for review under EMEA centralized procedure and validation by Novasep of API cGMP process

Pompey and Marseille, France, February 11 2010 - Novasep, a leading supplier of manufacturing solutions to the life sciences industries, and Provepharm, a start-up specialized in the development of pharmaceutical applications for Proveblue®, announce the successful validation by Novasep of a cGMP manufacturing process for the Proveblue® active pharmaceutical ingredient. This is a major step in bringing compliant methylene-blue-based drugs to market.
At the same time, Provepharm announces that the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has accepted for evaluation the Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for Provepharm’s Methylthioninium chloride Proveblue® solution for injection under the Community centralized procedure.
Patented and compliant Proveblue® active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) opens the way to researching and developing methylene-blue-based drug products in a variety of applications, including urinary and ocular antiseptics as well as anti-malarial agents...

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About Novasep
Novasep develops, markets and operates innovative technologies providing life science industries with safe and cost-effective production of active molecules. The global manufacturing solutions offered by Novasep include process development services; purification equipment and systems; contract manufacturing services; and complex active molecules. They apply to:
Synthetic molecules, combining conventional chemistry with special technologies and know-how such as hazardous chemistry, asymmetric synthesis, HPAPI handling, low temperature chemistry, biocatalysis, process chromatography, etc.
Biomolecules, with single unit operations or complete upstream and downstream processes including fermentation and cell culture, innovative batch and continuous purification technologies such as membrane processes, ion exchange, chromatography, crystallization and formulation...

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About Provepharm
Provepharm is an affiliated company of the Provence Technologies Group, devoted to developing and marketing pharmaceutical drug products from active pharmaceutical ingredients synthesized and patented by its parent company. Provepharm expertise is in experienced managers coming from the international pharmaceutical industry. As one of its strategic lines, the Group recognized the pharmaceutical industry trend to explore known compounds in new indications and its increasing need for accessing such API’s at the required level of quality...Novasep's Press Release - [PDF] Provepharm's Press Release -

Syncrosome : Nausea and Emesis Models - safety evaluation of PDE4 inhibitors

oct 2, 2009 ...Nausea and Emesis Models for the safety evaluation of PDE4 inhibitors

The aim of this study is the determination of the emetic profile of candidate compounds considering that emesis may impair oral absorption of drugs and have a significant negative impact on patients?... Syncrosome's Press Release - poster [pdf] -

About Syncrosome

...SYNCROSOME is a non clinical C.R.O specialized in vivo drug evaluation.

We are one of the leading company offering a wide range of in vivo services including efficacy evaluation, safety assessment, and in vivo PK studies.

You can outsource with us all of your early in vivo activity, or ask only for our expertise on specific efficacy models.
Our favorite fields are cardiovascular, gastroenterology, neurodegenerative disorders, emesis, respiratory.

Moreover, thanks to our internal Research & Developement program we are regularly developing new models and integrate new functional exploration methods.... about Syncrosome -

Fluofarma : Publication in Analytical Chemistry

Bordeaux (France) – December 1, 2009 - Fluofarma announces publication in the journal “Analytical Chemistry” on its recombinant differential anchorage probes technology for high content screening.


Fluofarma, a leading company in High Content Screening (HCS) technologies, which offers services and consultancy to the Pharmaceutical industry, announced today the publication in the international scientific journal “Analytical Chemistry”, of the original article "Recombinant differential anchorage probes that tower over the spatial dimension of intracellular signals for high content screening and analysis”.

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About Fluofarma :

Fluofarma is a privately-held contract service provider which offers High Content Screening (HCS) services and technologies for target and drug discovery, predictive toxicity testing. The company was created in 2003 by a team of scientists with in-depth, expertise in oncology, neurobiology and chemistry. Since its inception, Fluofarma has developed innovative technologies designed for automated flow cytometry, confocal microscopy and laser scanning cytometry to improve the level of understanding of compounds and their effects, from the earliest stage of the discovery process onwards.

Fluofarma’ services include:
- Development & miniaturization of cell-based assays,
- Functional screening for target and drug discovery,
- Compound profiling and mechanism of action studies,
- Predictive toxicity testing at a large scale.

The company is headquartered in Bordeaux, France, and now works with over 30 major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide... Fluofarma's Press Release -