Honing Biosciences receives funding for the development of cell therapies
Founded and supported by Institut Curie in 2018, Honing Biosciences is taking another step forward with a €2 million fund raising. Obtained from the PSL Innovation Fund (Elaia), a private investor and the Banque Publique d'Investissement (BPI France), this funding will enable the start-up to make considerable progress in the development of innovative cell therapies.
Honing Biosciences: modulating and securing cell therapies
Born from the work of the Cell Biology and Cancer Team of Institut Curie (CNRS, Sorbonne University) directed by Franck Perez, Honing Biosciences has been developing, since 2018, a technological platform to control the intensity of a treatment using therapeutic cells. How does it work? By regulating protein transport in drug-cells in order to optimize their efficacy and reduce their potential toxicity. The result? Less invasive and more targeted treatments thanks to the addition of controlled doses of a specific vitamin to the patient's diet.
Full of promise, this cellular therapeutic innovation could be applied to the treatment of a wide variety of patients, as points out Franck Perez, co-founder of Honing Biosciences:
Intrinsically, our technology can be adapted to many other pathologies related to metabolism or neurodegeneration. Whenever a cell needs to secrete a particular protein or hormone, our technology can be applied.
Towards new stages of development
Honing Biosciences was the first company in which Institut Curie has invested since the implementation of its new technology transfer policy in 2017. This new step heralds a promising future for the start-up, as explained by Amaury Martin, Director of Valorization and Industrial Partnerships at Institut Curie and Director of Carnot Curie Cancer:
Securing this funding two years after the creation of the company is a real satisfaction for the work accomplished, and a decisive step forward in the development of the technology. This would not have been possible without the French Tech Seed label obtained through the PSL Tech Seed consortium in which participates Institut Curie, the funding mobilized through Carnot Curie Cancer, the iLAB label and the dynamism of PSL University with the establishment of the PSL Innovation Fund managed by Elaia. As the patents (co-owned by Institut Curie, CNRS and INSERM) are under exclusive license to Honing Biosciences, the company will pursue its development plan with confidence.
Major projects are thus to be expected for the biotechnology company, as continues Abdelkader Bousabaa, President of Honing Biosciences: "This significant investment will enable Honing Biosciences to strengthen its technologies and intellectual property and to start studies on the application of its regulation technique to other types of cell therapies. In addition to the development of our own products, our ambition is to offer our technological platform to partners, whether academic, start-up or pharmaceutical, who need to modulate their own therapies."
