THEME 4: MARINE BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES - BIOTECHNOLOGY

Specialists in the fight against cancer are keen to find a way round the limitations imposed by the general radio- and chemotherapy treatments currently available. The future lies in “bullet” treatments using substances identified for their specific effects on a particular type of tumour and targeted very precisely at the point of tumour damage.

Molecules able to act on different types of cancers, on leukaemia and also on diseases of the immune system are sought by scientists, particularly from among marine plants, animals and microbes. The I2D project combines the expertise of MAT Biopharma, a company specialising in biopharmaceutical molecules, and the skills of medical researchers at Brest’s university hospital (CHU) in the areas of oncology, haematology and immunology. Together they are exploring and developing the remarkable collections of marine organisms assembled and held by the IFREMER and Université de Bretagne Occidentale laboratories. After extraction and purification, the molecules undergo extensive trials at the high-speed screening facility in Brest to uncover their therapeutic properties.

Hopes are riding very high and international competition is extremely fierce: the world market for biopharmaceutical molecules had already reached a turnover of 38 billion dollars in 2003.

I2D PROJECT PARTNERS

Companies 

• Mat Biopharma in Evry and Brest is the project leader and is a biopharmaceutical company specialising in therapeutic antibodies in oncology and immunology, particularly for “orphan diseases”. The high-speed screening facility which it has developed will be based in Brest.
• Seadev in Brest is a young company founded in 2004 with the support of IFREMER for the production and marketing of marine-sourced molecules to be used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.

Research centres 

• Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Brest – The Immunology and Pathology Laboratory under Professor Christian Berthou has acquired an international reputation in the field of oncology, haematology and immunology. The Centre d’Investigation clinique (Clinical Investigation Unit) at CHU de Brest (Brest University Hospital) will also be taking part in the research. 
• IFREMER and its Biotechnology and Marine Molecules Lab are developing the molecules held in a remarkable collection of 1 400 bacterial strains from deep-sea hydrothermal locations. 
• UBO-IUEM is providing access to its collection of algae and the molecules isolated from them.

Contacts

philippe.potin@pole-mer-bretagne.com
christine.bodeau@pole-mer-bretagne.com
eric.deslandes@pole-mer-bretagne.com