Ciloa secures €5 million for the development of its new generation of biomedicines and vaccines using exosomes
- The company finalized a €3.5 million fundraising and obtained €1.5 million in public funding as part of the “Emerging Infectious Diseases and CBRN Threats” call for proposals of the France 2030 investment plan, operated on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance. This aid was more specifically granted for the development of a natural vaccine against the Covid-19 delta variant.
- With its own production unit to meet GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) standards, Ciloa is now positioned as a major player in the development of therapeutic and preventive products using its tailor-made exosome modification technology.
Montpellier, France, March 08th 2022 – Ciloa, a pioneer company expert in the in vivo customization of exosomes, announced today that it has secured €5 million to pursue its development programs for exosome-based biomedicines and vaccines. These funds will be used notably for the development of a new generation of natural vaccines using exosomes to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection, including the variants responsible for the severe form of Covid-19.
Ciloa is developing its innovative vaccine using its unique and proprietary exosome modification technology platform for the development of a new class of biologics. Exosomes are extracellular nanovesicles produced and used as natural messengers by all living organisms.
Ciloa will develop this new generation of vaccines, which will eventually target several major viruses that have no effective treatment to date (SARS-CoV-2, HIV, Chikungunya, Zika, Dengue, etc.) until the end of the regulatory preclinical phases. The preclinical phases of some of these vaccine candidates will be conducted in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur, with the objective of confirming the safety of the vaccine candidates as well as their ability to protect effectively against the virus.
The production of the Covid-19 delta variant vaccine in compliance with GMP standards in Ciloa’s new production facility, will then allow the company to move very quickly towards clinical evaluation.
These advances will confirm the potential of Ciloa’s proprietary exosome platform to create not only vaccines, but also a new generation of therapeutic vectors.
“We are delighted to have received this grant which, coupled to the funds recently raised by Ciloa, ensures our financial visibility for the continued development of our innovative products using exosomes for the treatment or prevention of serious pathologies, which have no effective solution to date”, said Robert Mamoun, CEO and co-founder of Ciloa. “The delta variant is currently the cause of many serious cases of Covid-19. It is essential to rapidly develop efficient protective or therapeutic tools, but also to prepare for the potential emergence of new and more pathogenic variants. Ciloa is also one of the few French biotech companies to have its own exosome production unit, which allow us to move towards clinical phases for the rapid availability of our exosome-based products.”
About Ciloa: www.ciloa.fr
Ciloa is a French biotech company, spin-off of the CNRS and the University of Montpellier, pioneer in the development of vaccines and exosome-based vaccines and therapies. Based in Montpellier, it was created in 2011 by Robert MAMOUN and Bernadette TRENTIN. Ciloa has an exclusive patented technology for the in vivo development of recombinant exosomes in therapeutic and preventive applications.
Supported by major players in innovation such as the Occitanie Region, Bpifrance , the Eurobiomed competitiveness cluster, the AD’OCC agency and the CNRS, Ciloa intends today to continue its development in the Occitanie region and thus contribute to the reinforcement of the strategic health industrial field in France.
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