VALBIOTIS Expands Its Innovation Capacity with Its New Discovery and Preclinical Research Platform

  • A state-of-the-art tool of 1,200 m2 following GPL (Good Laboratory Practice) standards, installed on the site of the former MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme)
  • Platform showcases the expertise of VALBIOTIS, to complete the development of the current portfolio, including VALEDIA®, accelerate the pace of innovations and identify new products
  • A strategic asset to increase the creation of value over the long term, strengthen the autonomy of VALBIOTIS and secure intellectual property.

LA ROCHELLE, France--()--Regulatory News:

VALBIOTIS (Paris:ALVAL) (FR0013254851 – ALVAL / PEA/SME eligible), a French Research & Development company committed to scientific innovation for preventing and combating of metabolic diseases, today announced the launch of its new Discovery and Preclinical Research platform in Riom (Puy-de-Dôme, France), after a 10-month installation work. This platform has been equipped with cutting-edge equipment and installed in a former MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) preclinical center. It vastly increases the R&D resources of VALBIOTIS and allows the Company to conduct all of the preclinical studies required to obtain the appropriate health claims and market the current portfolio of products, and to create new and innovative plant-based active ingredients within the field of metabolic diseases.

"The launch of this proprietary Discovery and Preclinical Research platform represents a significant milestone for VALBIOTIS. The platform's dimensions, its technological equipment and the skills of the scientific team working within it support our goal to establish VALBIOTIS as a key player in a new field within the biotechnology sector: prevention. This tool will enable us to innovate faster and to secure intellectual property rights. I would like to thank the teams who have brought this highly strategic project to completion., " commented Sébastien PELTIER, CEO of VALBIOTIS.

A state-of-the-art infrastructure to boost innovation

The Discovery and Preclinical Research platform will enhance VALBIOTIS’ screening capacities, in vivo, in order to identify new active ingredients in compliance with SPF (Specific Pathogen Free) standards and procedures. The latest-generation equipment and methods in vivo and in vitro, provide extensive preclinical data on the efficacy and safety of products and enable VALBIOTIS to characterize the mechanisms of action of the products at all biological levels. In addition to the clinical results, such preclinical data are necessary to obtain health claims from the regulatory authorities.

The 870 m2 technical platform is attached to 300 m2 of office space, where data analysis, experiment monitoring and management of quality procedures has already begun. The cross-disciplinary Quality Assurance Department ensures the methodological validity and quality of the data obtained, in compliance with Good Laboratory Practice standards.

Pascal SIRVENT, CSO, Director of Discovery and Preclinical and Translational Research at VALBIOTIS explains: "This integrated platform has been designed and proportioned to enable control of the entire product development chain, from Discovery to regulatory preclinical studies. We are now able to generate data on a much larger scale, while meeting accuracy and quality requirements, and to forge our own partnerships with international academic institutions. It is a high-performance infrastructure, specifically designed to facilitate our innovative approach that consists in using the properties of plants to design products with multi-targeted modes of action, in the field of metabolic diseases. We sincerely thank the Clermont Auvergne University for the work achieved together since 2014."

Scientific equipment of the highest caliber for the research on metabolic diseases

  • In vivo platform:
    • Metabolic disease models: diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, NAFLD
    • Indirect calorimetry, body composition analysis using EchoMRI
    • Microsurgery, euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp
  • Histology platform:
    • Coloration, immuno-histochemical staining, fluorescence
  • Cellular culture:
    • Primary culture, hepatocytes, adipocytes, muscular and pancreatic lines
  • Biochemistry and molecular biology:
    • Plasmatic dosages, protein and gene expression analysis: mRNA extraction / RT-QPCR, luminescence, fluorescence, ELISA, western Blot
    • Mitochondiral respiration
  • Radiolabelling in vivo (to be installed, registration underway with the French Nuclear Safety Authority)

VALBIOTIS R&D, a cross-disciplinary facility designed for healthcare innovation

VALBIOTIS R&D, the global Research & Development arm of VALBIOTIS, is responsible for product discovery and development from the first screening phases of the plants of interest to the coordination of the final clinical studies of finished products on the target population.

VALBIOTIS has divided its R&D into 3 units, which in total account for 70% of the company's workforce:

  • The Discovery and Preclinical Research platform in Riom (France) ;
  • The Plant-based chemistry platform, integrated within La Rochelle University (France) specifically designed for researching food plants and their applications ;
  • The Clinical Research Unit, located in Périgny (France), at head office.

ABOUT VALBIOTIS

VALBIOTIS is a French Research & Development company committed to scientific innovation for preventing and combating metabolic diseases. Its products are made for manufacturers in the agri-food and pharmaceutical industries. VALBIOTIS particularly focuses on solutions to prevent type 2 diabetes, NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis), obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

VALBIOTIS was founded in La Rochelle in early 2014 and has formed numerous partnerships with top academic centers in France and abroad, including the La Rochelle University, the CNRS and the Clermont Auvergne University located in Clermont-Ferrand. These partnerships have enabled VALBIOTIS to benefit from strong financial leverage, particularly thanks to experts and technical partners who support its projects.

The Company is now located on 3 sites in France – Périgny, La Rochelle (17) and Riom (63) – and has an American office in Boston (MA).

VALBIOTIS is a member of the “BPI Excellence” network and received the “Innovative Company” status accorded by BPI France. VALBIOTIS has also been awarded “Young Innovative Company” status and has received major financial support from the European Union for its research programs by obtaining support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Find out more about VALBIOTIS:
http://valbiotis.com/

Name: Valbiotis
ISIN code: FR0013254851
Mnemonic code: ALVAL

Contacts

VALBIOTIS
CORPORATE COMMUNICATION
Carole Rocher / Marc Delaunay
+33 5 46 28 62 58
carole.rocher@valbiotis.com
marc.delaunay@valbiotis.com
or
FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION
ACTIFIN
Stéphane Ruiz
+33 1 56 88 11 14
sruiz@actifin.fr
or
MEDIA RELATIONS
ALIZE PR
Caroline Carmagnol
Wendy Rigal
+33 1 44 54 36 66
valbiotis@alizerp.com

Contacts

VALBIOTIS
CORPORATE COMMUNICATION
Carole Rocher / Marc Delaunay
+33 5 46 28 62 58
carole.rocher@valbiotis.com
marc.delaunay@valbiotis.com
or
FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION
ACTIFIN
Stéphane Ruiz
+33 1 56 88 11 14
sruiz@actifin.fr
or
MEDIA RELATIONS
ALIZE PR
Caroline Carmagnol
Wendy Rigal
+33 1 44 54 36 66
valbiotis@alizerp.com