Bioaster, and the Cancer Center of Lyon (CRCL) have signed a contract with Janssen-Cilag SAS, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson to advance the global fight against chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). The collaboration is jointly coordinated by Janssen France and Johnson & Johnson Innovation.
Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by HBV. There are today an estimated number of 240 million people worldwide that carry the virus and remain chronically infected. Current treatments seldom eliminate the virus and can often be associated with adverse reactions.
This project aims to support the preclinical research and development of next generation immunotherapeutic treatments for chronic HBV. The two years project will evaluate a novel preclinical model naturally susceptible to HBV infection, and its suitability as a model for human chronic HBV infection. This project aims to bring a major breakthrough in the availability of a predictive model for the development of novel therapies for HBV.
"We are very satisfied and proud of our partnership model, where academic, small and medium sized enterprises (SME), pharmaceutical companies and Bioaster are joining forces and competencies,” said Nathalie Garcon, chief executive officer and chief science officer, Bioaster. “Through this partnership, we are contributing together to the design and evaluation of a preclinical model that can make possible the development of new therapies against a disease that affects over 10% of the population in some parts of the world."
