Projects we support

Catalyze4Life is originally supported by the Vice Presidency Innovation and adopted by, and based in, the School of Life Sciences. This initial support allowed us, with the technology transfer office, to select and support several projects. Some of them have received funding and others are supported through providing advices and network in industrial R&D, Business Development, etc.

We select the projects to support based on a multitude of criteria related to: scientific merit and excellence, technology validation feasibility, technology transfer potential, societal needs serving profile and finally business and commercial future attractiveness. Since 2018, more than 10 projects have been supported during their pilot phase.

If you have an interesting and purely applicable project, or if you need support to develop one around your core research, please contact us to at [email protected]

2021 call for projects was supported through C4L’s partnership with enable. The winners are:

MeniGel

Project description: Cartilage injuries are one of the most common knee conditions and the current repair strategies are unsatisfactory. A major identified shortcoming is the almost non-existent lateral integration of the material used to fill the tissue defects. To address this unmet need, we developed MeniGel, a novel biocompatible hydrogel scaffold system with exceptional adhesive properties. The developed bioadhesive has the particularity to be injected into the damaged are and be quickly cured in situ. In order to demonstrate the cartilage healing with MeniGel technology, we will perform an in vivo step to generate pre-clinical validated data for applying to a clinical study. (Pioletti Lab)

REA Test

Project description: Identifying pregnant women at risk of preterm birth is essential. If the risk is detected on time, doctors could save millions of lives. Today, half of the pregnant women who deliver preterm have no risk factors or early symptoms. These neonates have higher chances of morbidity & mortality. Indeed, PTB is the first cause of death of children < 5 years old. Rea develops the first medical device for the remote monitoring of the risk pf preterm birth. With our technology, doctors could act early on to save the lives of preterm babies. (Guiducci lab)

Mechano-inhibitors

Project description: A novel treatment against antibiotic resistant infections. Our invention stands out among other strategies as it acts on structures outside of the pathogen, which gives an advantage of low toxicity and reduced bacterial resistance. Mechano-inhibitors make prophylactic treatment possible, which is particularly attractive for cystic fibrosis and immunocompromised patients, boosting the market potential. (Persat lab)

Examples of pilot projects

New molecular leads are developed that can modulate a new mechanism of  mycobacterial virulence determinant protein secretion for specifically protecting  against M. tuberculosis.

Current status

Promising leads identified.

Based on an innovative strategy for the design of vaccines, the project is advancing into developing a first effective RSV vaccine.

Current status

Lead immunogens identified and primate vaccinations to start.

A novel antibody treatment strategy against Alzheimer is developed based on a better understanding of the different aggregation stages of the beta amyloid.

Current status

Diagnostic uses license under discussion.

A new Cell therapy platform against cancer is developed using a unique and very effective approach for antigen presentation.

Current status

Structuring a startup.

A next generation sequencing methodology is being developed based on a recently fully characterized bacterial toxin nanopore.

Current status

Initial nucleotide and peptide “read outs” with mutant nanopore structures (to patent).

Development of an innovative methodology to quantitatively read and characterize the full RNA content of a cell for cancer diagnostics and other applications.

Current status

New Cancer Biomarker Patented.