- FABENTECH is the only French SME chosen to be a part of the COUNTERACT European consortium, which aims to develop medical countermeasures targeting Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats
- Funded by the European Defence Fund and coordinated by the French Alternative
Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the consortium includes 26 partners
from 11 EU member states - FABENTECH will receive a grant of 5 million euros to develop a first countermeasure against a first biological pathogen
Lyon (France), January 9, 2023 – Fabentech, a pharmaceutical-stage biotechnology company specialized in the development, production and marketing of polyclonal antibodies for responding to emergency situations and treating emerging infectious diseases, today announced that it has been chosen to be a part of the COUNTERACT European consortium that is aiming to develop medical countermeasures to cope with CBRN threats.
“Within an unstable public health and geopolitical context, the CBRN risk has become a crucial issue with regard to protecting the inhabitants of EU member states”,said Sébastien IVA, CEOand Chairman of Fabentech. “We are pleased to be part of this working group comprising prestigious institutions and top-level experts. Our know-how, technology and integrated production tool have been recognized as major assets for this strategic mission, and we are proud to be able to contribute to the construction of an effective European public health shield.”
“COUNTERACT’s objective is to prepare the European Union for existing and future CBRN threats based on cooperation within the European public-private ecosystem, and we are delighted that Fabentech will be one of the members of this consortium”, added Roger Le Grand, Executive Director of Idmit1 and coordinator of the COUNTERACT project. “We are convinced that their polyclonal antibody technology will be of strategic use for designing targeted and effective countermeasures. The CEA will provide this major project with its scientific expertise and capacities.”
An ambitious project to strengthen the European Union’s preparedness for CBRN threats
Funded by the European Defence Fund2 and coordinated by the CEA, the COUNTERACT consortium’s goal is to develop four types of medical countermeasures, for which two will aim to obtain marketing approval from the European Medicines Agency. Scheduled to last four years, the project brings together 26 partners from 11 EU member states: 5
universities, 3 technological research bodies including the CEA as coordinator, 10 public research institutes and 8 private companies.
Fabentech is the only French biotech to have been chosen within the framework of COUNTERACT to work on developing a first countermeasure against agents that are a threat. Fabentech will benefit from a grant of 5 million euros in this respect.
A polyclonal immunotherapy technological platform dedicated to health emergency situations
Fabentech’s primary asset lies in its innovative technological platform for producing polyclonal antibodies, Fabshield®. This technology stems from proven processes originally developed by Sanofi Pasteur and now licensed out to Fabentech. The polyclonal antibodies produced by the platform rapidly recognize and then neutralize pathogens and other toxins, thus stopping the harmful agent’s progress and evolution within the human body. Polyclonality allows different parts of the pathogen to be targeted, unlike monoclonal antibodies that are specific to a single part, potentially making them ineffective if there is a mutation. Thanks to this unique technological process, Fabentech has the ability to anticipate future risks and to participate in the development of a biotechnological arsenal against every type of biothreat while enabling a treatment to be rapidly developed.
A proprietary industrial site in France ensuring total control over the value chain
Fabentech has its own modular bioproduction plant of more than 1,000 m2, giving the Company the ability to produce several treatments simultaneously (Covid-19, antidotes…), in line with the diversity of biothreats, and hence enabling national and European sovereignty to be protected. This cooperation within the COUNTERACT consortium reinforces the credibility of Fabentech’s innovative and versatile technological platform and highlights the substantial interest of its bioproduction site in meeting the growing need for countermeasures against potential biothreats within the current global geopolitical context.
About FABENTECH
Created in 2009 and based in Lyon, Fabentech is a pharmaceutical-stage biotechnology company specialized in the development, production and marketing of polyclonal antibodies for responding to emergency situations.
Specializing in biothreats and working in close partnership with the French military, the company’s goal is to build a domestic and European shield against the biological threats that are the greatest risk to public health by producing and marketing preventive stocks against these targeted pathogens.
This process, licensed out to Fabentech by Sanofi Pasteur, has substantial potential in the designing of antidotes against bioterrorist attacks and treatments for numerous infectious diseases.
Fabentech has 40 staff and is financially supported by prestigious shareholders such as Definvest and Institut Mérieux.
For more information, go to https://fabentech.fr/en
Contacts
Fabentech
Sébastien IVA
CEO and Chairman
+33 4 37 70 67 67
NewCap
Arthur Rouillé
Media relations
fabentech@newcap.eu
+33 1 44 71 00 15
About the CEA
The CEA is a key player in research for the French State, its economy and its citizens. It provides practical solutions to their requirements in four key areas: energy transition, digital transition,
technologies for the medicine of the future, defense and security. A French public research body among the world’s top 100 innovation players (Clarivate 2022), the CEA plays the role of a catalyst and an accelerator of innovation serving French industry. It improves the competitiveness of businesses in every sector by creating effective, innovative and differentiating products and provides novelsolutions to clarify our society’s evolutions. The CEA deploys this dynamic in every region of France by supporting its local partners’ innovation approaches and thus contributes to the creation of value and long-term jobs tailored to industrial requirements.
At the same time, it supports the development of its 226 startups, vehicles for transferring laboratory-driven disruptive technologies and know-how.
For more information, go to www.cea.fr
CEA press contact
Boris LE NGOC
boris.lengoc@cea.fr
+33 6 60 71 63 36
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