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Olivier Favre-Bulle
member of the "Cercle des experts Bpifrance"
Founder and CEO of 3Biotech, Olivier Favre-Bulle was awarded the "Cercle des experts Bpifrance" label at the 9th edition of the BIG, held at the Accor Arena in Bercy. He thus brings his valuable experience to the evaluation of biotech projects applying to the France2030 calls for projects.
3Biotech x
Charleroi BioPark
Dominique Demonte, Head of the Brussels South Charleroi BioPark (Belgium) and Catherine Muller, Executive VP at 3Biotech, have signed a partnership agreement to accelerate the growth of biotech projects developed within the Biopark.
Founded and managed by Olivier Favre-Bulle, 3Biotech is now the reference for managing and steering biotechs' translational pre-clinical CMC (Chemistry Manufacturing and Control) phases.
Recognized by Bpifrance for its expertise in drug development, 3Biotech is strengthening its presence in Europe. The Biopark will be home to over 85 biotech players, representing 3,500 employees. The cluster has become a heavyweight in innovation, representing 20% of all European production capacity for cell and gene therapies.
3Biotech joins
BioWin
3biotech joins BioWin, Wallonia's biotech research organization. Its aim is to accelerate innovations to face tomorrow's public health challenges, and to expand knowledge, employment and competitiveness for all players in the Wallonia ecosystem. The cluster has 250 members from the private, public and academic sectors.
3Biotech meets
Elio Di Rupo
Valuable conversation between Elio di Rupo, Minister-President of Wallonia and former Prime Minister of Belgium, an active supporter of the biotech industry, and Catherine Muller, Executive Vice President of 3Biotech. Belgium has developed a very dynamic biotech sector, to which 3Biotech brings its expertise.
3Biotech x CIS Pharma
Interview with Christoph Schäfer,
CEO of CIS Pharma
CIS BIOPHARMA is the Basel-based 2023 oncology spinoff from CIS Pharma. Christoph Schäfer,
CEO of CIS Pharma, talks about his collaboration with 3Biotech.
Could you tell us about CIS?
We are a privately-held preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Our assets comprise ADCs and radioligands, targeting cancer with high unmet need. Our capabilities and technologies allow for a unique approach as we create targeted therapies with payloads selected specifically per each molecular target and each indication. Our linker technology is expected to change the way ADCs and radioligands are used in the future.
In what context and at what stages did 3Biotech intervene in your project?
We have met 3Biotech in the context of planning of our CMC. I called on Olivier Favre Bulle for his reported expertise and the track record of his company 3Biotech.
How is 3Biotech's approach innovative and how has it contributed to your success?
The experience and knowledge of 3Biotech has been instrumental in planning CMC including the selection of vendors. By discussing critical success factors with Olivier - from a commercial as well as a regulatory perspective - we have quickly identified the criteria for evaluation of vendors.
What was the outcome? Success of this collaboration? Could you give me 3 key figures and 3 key facts about the project?
Based on the information provided by 3Biotech we have been able to identify the vendors most fit for our program and created a roadmap supporting discussions with investors.
3Biotech x Abcely
Interview with Jean-Marc Herbert,
Founder and CEO of Abcely
Backed by 3Biotech, Nantes-based start-up Abcely, which offers a unique approach to the treatment of mucosal cancers, has just raised over €2.4m. The funds raised will enable the company to accelerate pre-clinical development of the compound with a view to regulatory trials. Jean-Marc HERBERT, founder of Abcely, describes his collaboration with 3Biotech.
Could you introduce Abcely?
Abcely's mission is to develop innovative new medical and pharmaceutical technologies for the treatment of mucosal cancers, offering patients who have reached a therapeutic impasse a new solution based on a completely new concept in cancer immunotherapy. The concept developed by Abcely is based on the use of a new class of orally active therapeutic molecules (IgA). Abcely is involved in all phases of development, from identifying compounds of biological origin as potential active agents to demonstrating their activity in the human clinic.
In what context and at what stages did 3Biotech become involved in your project?
3Biotech was involved very early on, from the initial stages of assessing the feasibility of producing a new class of biological therapeutic agents. 3Biotech's involvement in our project was extremely valuable in a context where expertise in this type of molecule does not exist anywhere.
How did 3Biotech's innovative approach contribute to your success?
3Biotech was able to ask 'the right questions' to identify the objectives, the risks of failure and the project milestones. The CMC development plan was virtually completed under 3Biotech's responsibility. As CTO, Olivier Favre-Bulle is involved in the project.
In summary, what was the outcome of this collaboration?
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Presentation of a CMC plan (production/purification/analysis) that helped convince investors to put together a major investment round.
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Identification of a CRO specialising in the pre-industrial production/purification/analysis of a unique class of biological molecules.
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Very professional monitoring of the early production/purification/analysis phases of a class of molecules not yet developed on a global scale.
3Biotech x Karla Therapeutics
Interview with Simon Loiodice,
Co-Founder and CEO of Karla Therapeutics
Karla Therapeutics is the first "T cell company" aiming to improve mental health. Its drug development program relies on an immuno-centric approach enabling a precision medicine strategy and having potential applications across various central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Simon LOIODICE, Co-Founder and CEO of Karla Therapeutics, talks about his collaboration with 3Biotech.
In what context and at what stages did 3Biotech intervene in your project?
Karla is a 2022-founded preclinical stage biotech and its most advance candidates are monoclonal antibodies against a novel target. The company managed to generate significant capital traction relatively quickly and was willing to further consolidate its roadmap by building a comprehensive and solid drug development plan up to first-in-human trials. In such context, Karla has requested 3Biotech to help shaping a roadmap (including timelines/budget) focusing on generation/selection of clinical drug candidates, CMC strategy and regulatory aspects that would articulate with the other R&D activities required to progress the program.
How has 3Biotech's approach been innovative and contributed to your success?
It was clear that 3Biotech’s team was very professional and had a significant experience that was not limited to purely technical aspects but also included bio-entrepreneurial expertise and overall understanding of the challenges that an early-stage biotech has to face. This helped 3Biotech to quickly understand (i) Karla’s overall vision and financing/corporate strategy, (ii) the disruptive aspect and potential of Karla’s approach, (iii) the associated challenges and corresponding needs as well as (iv) Karla’s working hypotheses.
3Biotech manifested a genuine interest for Karla’s project and worked/brainstormed with the company as a teammate, asking relevant questions, involving relevant experts, and challenging the project to improve its robustness.
What has been the outcome of this collaboration?
The support from 3Biotech helped generating a compelling, realistic, and ambitious plan and value creation strategy with refined timelines, financial needs and milestones hereby supporting discussions with investors as part of Karla’s endeavors in raising capital.
3 key facts about Karla’s project:
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Lead by an international, experienced, and complementary team (drug development, neuroscience/immunology…)
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Unique approach to CNS drug development opening to precision medicine strategy.
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In line with growing evidence pointing the critical role of the neuroimmune axis in CNS disorders.
3Biotech x EpyNext Therapeutics
Interview with Louis Farge,
President of EpyNext Therapeutics
Epynext Therapeutics is dedicated to the fight against antibiotic resistance, one of the most urgent health threats of our time particularly in hospital settings. Its technological platform enables the production of monoclonal antibodies directed against full membrane antigens. Resulting antibodies have a remarkably high affinity and specificity for their target. A first antibody targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains multi-resistant to antibiotics has demonstrated its ability to inhibit the bacteria both in vitro and in vivo. Louis Farge, President of Epynext Therapeutics, talks about his collaboration with 3Biotech.
In what context and at what stages did 3Biotech intervene in your project?
In June 2021, Epynext Therapeutics, not yet initiated at that time, was labelled Deep Tech and laureate of the iLab competition organized by the French Ministry of Research. The founding team immediately focussed on the detailed project planning to move to make sure that we would be able to reach a decisive milestone: selecting our lead. By experience, we knew that even at that early stage, decisions that we were making, especially in terms of product profile, or the way we were planning to conduct our in vitro or in vivo experiments, could impact the regulatory path down the line. We also had many questions about various technologies and the selection of our partners. In short, we needed a stepped back experienced look at our plan that could take into account the potential impact of our decisions on the later development steps. Knowing Olivier Favre-Bulle and 3Biotech by reputation, their names immediately came to mind when looking for such a support.
How has 3Biotech's approach been innovative and contributed to your success?
The first time we shared our project and development plan with Olivier, he immediately raised key practical questions and challenged lab experiment protocols or technologies we were planning to use. His capacity to quickly understand experimental protocols and put expected outcomes in perspective with practical CMC and/or clinical needs has been instrumental in shaping our plan the best possible way. Challenging various technologies that we have been using has helped us better understand their limitations and the way to use them best. Finally, his knowledge of the ecosystem was a great help to know and select the proven best partners. He also provided us with a detailed plan and budget for our future steps in CMC.
What has been the outcome of this collaboration?
Epynext Therapeutics just celebrated its first birthday in January and we’ve reached our development milestones as planned and are currently finalizing our lead selection. We’ve learned a lot while shaping a selection methodology which we plan to follow for future targets that we may identify. Olivier and 3Biotech have been of great help and support and we definitely see 3Biotech as a key partner for the future development of our drug candidate.
3Biotech x Acticor Biotech
Interview with Gilles Avenard,
co-founder and CEO of Acticor Biotech
Who is Acticor Biotech?
Founded in 2013, Acticor Biotech is currently conducting two phase 2/3 clinical studies. The development of our monoclonal antibody fragment, glenzocimab, for stroke treatment has been particularly rapid.
Why did you call on 3Biotech?
We began focusing on Chemistry Manufacturing and Control (CMC) very early on. One year after the creation of Acticor Biotech, the sequence of our monoclonal antibody fragment (ACT017) had just been humanised and we had to choose a bio-production system.
In order to accomplish this, we needed expertise that we did not have in-house. We worked with 3Biotech to define what patients, clinicians, and regulatory agencies would require of our drug candidate. From there, the Target Product Profile and the timeline were built. 3Biotech helped us find the right production system, define the formulation and target stability, select the right CDMO provider and coordinate and facilitate the relationship with the CDMO.
Our antithrombotic Fab has successfully passed the various stages of development. In September 2021, we enrolled our first patient in ACTISAVE, an adaptive Phase 2/3 study in stroke, and last November, Acticor biotech was granted an IND to conduct this Phase 2/3 in the US. The early implementation of a CMC strategy has clearly contributed to our rapid development, without any backtracking.
3Biotech x BioFilm Control
Thierry Bernardi,
President of BioFilm Control
BioFilm Control is developing a technology to detect the "biofilm" behaviour of microorganisms, a part of the life cycle in "slowed down life inside a protective gangue" mode, which is at the origin of the development of antibiotic resistance. With this technology, BioFilm Control has developed an in vitro diagnostic antibiofilmogram test and antibiofilm active ingredients. Thierry Bernardi, President of BioFilm Control, talks about his collaboration with 3Biotech.
In what context and at what stages did 3Biotech intervene in your project?
3Biotech was involved in the development of antibiofilm actives, highly innovative molecules with properties that complement standard antibiotics and increase their effectiveness. With his CMC expertise, Olivier Favre-Bulle of 3Biotech participated in the prioritisation of the most promising compounds according to their chemical structure, making it possible to evaluate the ease of synthesis, conditioning their production costs, as well as the toxic risks... a whole rational chain of decision-making requiring a great deal of practical, scientific, technical and even financial experience to evaluate the levels of investment necessary at each stage. All this in an efficient, highly professional, quality working environment.
How has 3Biotech's approach been innovative and contributed to your success?
Olivier Favre-Bulle challenged the project by asking questions that allowed us to identify the risks of failure and to precisely define the TPP. He intervened in a due diligence approach, with a critical and benevolent eye on the business project, paying attention to the source at the R&D level (which molecules are entering the screen?) as well as to the purpose at the clinical level (which galenic form is planned?).
He also participated in some brain storming sessions to set up development plans and he contributes to the evaluation of the operational staff.
What has been the outcome of this collaboration?
To date, 2 drugable actives have been successfully characterised in mouse models. The project is seeking funding to move to a pig model and to follow the ADME-Tox phases, in particular with a major pharmaceutical company for whom our antibiofilms are seen as "enabling agents".