The Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster (PSCC) aims to accelerate innovation against cancer by catalyzing all oncology stakeholders, both public and private, and by providing a comprehensive scientific offer to the most promising projects. To change the pace of innovation in oncology, the French Oncocluster opens to selected projects a tailored offer : coaching, expertise, preclinical and clinical platforms, data, samples, funding and networking opportunities to accelerate advances in cancer treatment and diagnosis.
7 projects have passed the 1st selection stage!
The first projects to benefit from the PSCC offer have been selected in June.
- PEGASCY is a biotech company repurposing drug molecule in new indications. The asset currently under development is a bispecific antibody (MM-141) targeting the IGF-1R and HER3 cell surface receptors to be launched in 2 phase 2 clinical trials with Ewing sarcoma and endometrial cancer.
- SMART CATCH a medtech company developing solutions for isolating tumoral biomarkers (Circulating Tumoral Cells, cell-free DNA, extracellular vesicles) in liquid biopsy. They are also part of the Compass clinical trials in triple negative breast cancer.
- APMONIA is a preclinical stage biotech company focused on developing novel peptide-based therapies that target and reprogram the tumor stroma extracellular matrix to have direct antic-cancer effect, overcome resistance and potentialize standard of care.
- ARDAN PHARMA is a preclinical stage biotech company dedicated to the development of a first-in-class small molecules targeting TORID inhibitors to modulate inflammation in cancer, leading to overcome resistance to targeted therapies and immunotherapies.
- GIMLI is developing a scalable SaaS platform for automated curation and exploitation of unstructured oncology data using natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML).
During the last PSCC Thursday (replay available here), we met Gimli's co-founder and CEO, Dr Alexandre Yazigi.
Watch his interview (in French only):
- PEPKON is a preclinical stage biotech company developing breakthrough therapeutic peptides capable of triggering the selective death of cancer cells for the treatment of cancers (hematology and solid tumors) with poor prognosis.
- PEP THERAPY is a clinical stage biotech developing innovative peptides as targeted therapies. The first asset, PEP-010, is currently under clinical evaluation (Phase 1a) with a primary focus on triple negative breast and ovarian cancer.
Watch his interview (in French only):
What do selected projects can get from the PSCC ?
The PSCC offer adjusts to the needs of the innovation projects with various maturity level, from preclinical stages to early clinical trials. Depending on their selection stage, selected projects will have the opportunity to benefit from all or part of the PSCC's offer.
Through one single point of entry, projects can get access to :
🔹 Talent : Access to a network of experienced professionals in various disciplines, including biology, mathematics, physics, artificial intelligence, and more, through one-to-one discussions and access to our academic partners training curriculum (already available).
🔹 Technologies : Leverage cutting-edge technologies and infrastructure available through the PSCC's technology platforms : single-cell and special transcriptomic, cell therapy, sequencing, ex-vivo and models … (progressive opening from 2nd half of 2023).
🔹 Funding : Explore potential funding opportunities to support the development and growth of your project, including access to VCs (starting in autumn).
🔹 Spaces : Benefit from dedicated spaces and facilities designed to foster collaboration and innovation (office spaces available in our temporary facilities starting in autumn).
🔹 Patients' Samples and Associated Data : Access valuable patient samples and associated data for research and development purposes (progressive opening).
🔹 Clinical trials : Access dedicated teams within partner hospitals to accelerate your phase I and II clinical trials (progressive opening).
How to get supported by the PSCC ?
The PSCC is based on a selective approach, focusing its resources where they can have the greatest impact. We evaluate projects at various maturity level, based on the quality of the team, the strength of the science, the development opportunities and the alignment with the cluster’s objectives. Our rigorous selection process involves an independent evaluation committee of experienced scientists and industry leaders.
Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis as they are received. For the September selection, the deadline for submission is August 18.
📝 Do you have an innovative project to fight cancer ? Do you want to be part of the next selection of projects supported by the PSCC?
We welcome project submissions from a wide range of stakeholders, including:
🔹 Academics with an industry-focused project
🔹 Start-ups
🔹 Scale-ups
🔹 Pharma companies
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And find out more about what PSCC offers and how to apply by visiting our website!
Thank you for your interest and support of the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster. Let us work together to make progress in oncology diagnosis and treatment and to meet the challenges of France 2030! 🌟
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