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news.Diaxonhit has announced that it was granted approximately €1.73m by Bpifrance, as part of its involvement in a research consortium led by InnaVirVax and funded under the program for ‘Strategic Industrial Innovation’.
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Headed by project leader InnaVirVax, the consortium includes Diaxonhit, and two Inserm (French National Institute for Medical Research) units : Southern Paris University (CESP – U1018 – Kremlin Bicêtre Hospital) and Bordeaux University (ISPED – UMR 897 – Université Bordeaux Segalen).
The PROTHEVIH project aims at developing an innovative therapeutic vaccine (VAC-3S) to treat AIDS patients, and develop diagnostic tests enabling personalized care of patients. This project will last 56 months. The total amount awarded to the consortium amounts to more than €9m, which will be paid in several installments during the project’s life.
Diaxonhit was selected for its competency to develop diagnostic tests in infectious diseases. The Company will be responsible for the development of 1) a companion test (CO-3S) which measures the level of anti-3S antibodies in patients treated with VAC-3S. In vaccinated patients, this test will enable doctors to measure the immune response to the vaccine therapy, and adjust it accordingly; 2) a diagnostic test (DIAG-3S) for the detection of anti-3S antibodies naturally secreted by patients infected by the HIV-1 virus. In collaboration with Inserm units, the objective is to validate the use of the level of natural anti-3S antibodies measured by this second test as an early marker of disease progression, thus enabling optimized care of HIV-1 infected patients.
Diaxonhit management board president Dr Loïc Maurel noted that PROTHEVIH is a new opportunity for the company to utilize its know-how in the development of companion diagnostics with its expertise in proteomics and infectious diseases.
"Even if our Group went through a significant transformation with the addition of a strong commercial activity, it remains an innovative Group with two proprietary tests under development and participation to several personalized medicine consortiums. We are quite happy to work with InnaVirVax and two prestigious academic centers on this ambitious project, especially since AIDS remains a major public health issue on a worldwide basis," Dr Maurel added.