BioWorld International Correspondent
PARIS - LibraGen signed a collaboration agreement with Pierre Fabre Médicament under which LibraGen is to use its enzyme production process to optimize the synthesis of a molecule that is the main active ingredient in one of Pierre Fabre's drugs.
LibraGen, of Toulouse, France, pointed out that its process bypasses the need for several stages of chemical synthesis and reduces production costs and improves the environmental impact. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
LibraGen, which was created in early 2001, uses functional genomics technologies combined with industrial know-how to exploit the genetic and chemical diversity of bacteria that cannot be cultured under conventional conditions for developing novel biocatalysts and molecules that can be used in the development and production of therapeutic compounds and chemicals.
Its biocatalyst discovery platform combines the use of its metagenomics technology META-DNA with the selection of accessible enzymes and culturable microbes. Metagenomics consists of purifying bacterial genetic information (DNA) from the environment, which mainly comes from non-culturable bacteria. Metagenomic DNA contains a large number of different bacterial genomes, and LibraGen separates out the DNA fragments and incorporates them into culturable host bacteria. Expression of the DNA in an adapted host expression system enables new natural compounds and enzymatic activities to be identified through primary activity screening.
LibraGen also has a complementary iterative screening approach that it applies to the heterologous expression of cloned DNA to identify biocatalysts and natural compounds, or look for specific families encoded by known enzymes.
In addition, LibraGen has developed screening procedures to highlight antibacterial, antifungal, antiproliferative and antiviral activity in order to identify active recombinant clones from its metagenomic DNA libraries. The company also draws on the technologies of molecular evolution, substrate synthesis using classical chemistry, and target or bioassay-oriented screening of biomolecules to discover new biocatalysts.
LibraGen's CEO, Renaud Nalin, told BioWorld International that the company developed the technology itself and that its IP was protected by four patents. He said it was pursuing a two-pronged business strategy entailing fee-for-service contracts and research collaborations with third parties to generate short-term revenues, and an in-house drug discovery program focusing on infectious diseases and cancer.
Commenting on the deal with Pierre Fabre, Nalin said that "the research is a first step toward a long-term objective of developing a biocatalytic synthesis production process for the molecule in question," although he wouldn't provide details about the molecule.
Pierre Fabre Médicament, based in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, specializes in five therapeutic fields: oncology, the central nervous system, cardiology, internal medicine/urology and dermatology.
Nalin said other partnerships and research contracts would be announced in the coming months. Last November, LibraGen entered an alliance with Lille, France-based Minakem. The collaboration is aimed at developing a biocatalysis-based production process for fine chemicals, and to that end, LibraGen is using its META-DNA technology and biocatalyst knowledge to generate new biosynthesis routes for use in Minakem's production processes.
Nalin said LibraGen was searching for new chemical structures with therapeutic activity in its chosen fields, and that its in-house research was at an early stage. He said LibraGen would partner out drugs before reaching the optimization and clinical development stage.
Since its creation, LibraGen has raised total funding of €2.9 million (US$3.5 million) in two stages. It started with seed capital of €800,000 provided by the Paris-based venture capital fund BioAm in early 2001. Then, in May 2004, it completed a second funding round that netted it €2.1 million.
The financing was led by BioAm and brought in two other investors: IRDI, a regional equity fund based in Toulouse, and Expanso, a venture capital fund of the French national savings bank, the Caisse d'Epargne.
Nalin said LibraGen's burn rate was "modest" and that it was not currently planning another financing. The company employs 12 people.