PROGRAMS

Project overview

Endometriosis is a gynaecological disease benign in theory but dramatically debilitating. It affects as many as 10% of women of child bearing age. It is an inflammatory chronic disease dependent of oestrogens.
The objective of ENDOTREAT is to develop new preclinical models based on organoids from human endometriosis samples to better characterize the pathology and to study the role of oestrogen receptors in these models.

 

Scientific and business partners

This project is led by the Institute of Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (I2MC) in partnership with the hospital of Toulouse (CHU Toulouse), the “Institut de Recherche en Santé Digestive” (IRSD) and Urosphere.
The strength of the present consortium lies in the combination of the expertise of physicians and researchers specialized in gynaecological diseases and the development of preclinical models for drug development.
This project is co-financed by La Région Occitanie in France and Urosphere.
ENDOTREAT strengthens the development of preclinical models in gynecology, a therapeutic area where Urosphere is already positioned with in vivo preclinical models (breast cancer, preterm birth and more)

For more information, please contact us.

Project overview

UGGINNOV aims to develop and implement new preclinical models from ‘mini-organs’ or organoids and Cancer Cell Lines (CCL) to Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) models.

This unique platform will offer the biotech and pharma industry opportunities for the optimized screening of biomarkers and new therapies.

It will also enhance the selection process for drug candidates in the development of personalized medicine solutions and tools.
Furthermore, it will contribute to the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of carcinogenesis and inflammation.

 

Scientific and business partners

This project is led by Urosphere in collaboration with the Inserm U1043 Institut de Recherche en Santé Digestive (IRSD) and Urolead.
The strength of the present consortium lies in the expertise and long lasting collaboration of three partners: Urosphere, specialized in preclinical development in urology from pain and inflammation to cancer; Urolead, specialized in PDX models in uro-oncology; and the Institut de Recherche en Santé Digestive, specialized in inflammation and cancer of the intestinal tract and liver pathologies.

UGGINNOV was selected among the few projects to be funded by France’s Occitanie region and the European Union, for a total value of approximately 1 million. This project strengthens the diversification of Urosphere’s activities through oncology and gastroenterology.

A more EFFECTIVE SYSTEME FOR TESTING CLINICALLY DRIVEN HYPOTHESES

The ability of Patient-Derived  Xenograft (PDX) model to reflect the complexity and heterogeneity of human tumours means they are key to supporting the individualized therapeutic approaches that are transforming cancer therapy.

With patient informed consent and anonymization of data related to the tumour sample, PDX models are developed by direct transfer of surgically resected patient tumour tissue into immuno-compromised mice. Xenograft tissues can be cryopreserved and thawed for drug evaluation studies.

The resulting PDX models are then used to test drug activity on tumour growth, including novel combinations, as-well-as biomarker discovery.

 

Our PDX Biobank

Urosphere has developed and characterized a unique collection of PDX preclinical models from the urogenital tract. They include:

• Over 30 PDX models from muscle invasive bladder cancers. Alongside our partner the Institut Curie, Urosphere has carried out extensive characterization, to enable the identification of specific mutations and the testing of new therapeutic combinations. Our bladder PDX collection covers the consensus molecular classification of bladder cancers, offering a unique opportunity for drug activity screening, stratification of responding tumours, and selection of patients to treat with new therapies.
• We’ve published our 30 kidney cancer PDX models collection, highlighting its exceptional representation of most of renal cancers, including rare models such as a chromophobe clear cell renal cancer (Lang et al., 2016).
• Urosphere has established six PDX models from prostate cancer. Their molecular profiling reveals a collection from ‘quiet’ models to highly rearranged ones correlating with their resistance to treatment. Our prostate cancer preclinical PDX models create the opportunity to test new drugs and combinations on naïve to hormone sensitive and castrate resistant PDX models.

Project overview

ORHUMAN aims to develop new preclinical models called ’mini-organs’, or organoids, and in vivo models from the male genital tract.

This unique set of tools will offer researchers and the biotech and pharma industries optimized screening of biomarkers, new therapies and combinations from screening of drug candidates to the development of personalized medicine solutions and tools.

It will also support a greater understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of male genital disorders such as infertility, inflammation and carcinogenesis.

 

Scientific and business partners

This project is led by the University of Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier’s EA 3694 laboratory in partnership with the Institut de Recherche en Santé Digestive (irsd) and Urosphere.

Laboratory EA 3694 is renowned for its expertise related to the male reproductive tract, infertility and the physiology of reproduction.  The irsd specializes in inflammation and cancer of the intestinal tract, urological tract and liver pathologies. It has expertise and a platform dedicated to the development and analysis of organoids called Nanorgan. Urosphere specializes in preclinical development in urology, from pain and inflammation to cancer, and has developed knowhow in the development of in vitro and in vivo models including organoids and patient-derived xenograft models (PDX).

By combining their expertise in andrology and the development of organoids for preclinical research and their platforms, the ORHUMAN consortium will develop unique models in andrology for testing new therapeutic solutions against infertility and cancer.

This project is co-financed by La Région Occitanie in France and Urosphere.

ORHUMAN strengthens the development of preclinical models in andrology, a therapeutic area where Urosphere is already positioned with in vivo preclinical models (prostate cancer, BPH, erectile dysfunction, and more)

For more information, please contact us.

Project overview

The aim of SEPTIME is to develop a sublingual hormonal treatment for menopausal symptoms. This new formulation will offer patients suffering from menopausal symptoms (hot flushes, vaginal atrophy, vulvar dryness, and dysfunction of the lower urinary tract) a solution with limited side effects. The main hormonal treatments in current use increase the risk of vascular events by 49% and the risk of breast cancer by 24%.

 

Scientific and business partners

This project is led by a pharmaceutical company in collaboration with the University of Liège, Belgium (Laboratory of Tumor and Development Biology), the INSERM U1048 laboratory located in Toulouse, France, and Urosphere.

The laboratory of Tumor and Development Biology works on the development of oestrogen derivatives and how they work, and provides expertise on their side effects such as those seen in breast cancer. INSERM U1048 specialises in the impact of oestrogen derivatives on metabolic and vascular diseases. With its preclinical models in urology, Urosphere provides a platform and knowhow for testing new therapies as well as studying their impact on potential adverse events such as urinary incontinence.

Thanks to its combined expertise this consortium will develop unique, safe solutions for women suffering from menopause symptoms.

This project has received EUROSTARS funding. EUROSTARS is a programme that supports small and medium businesses engaged in research to develop innovative products, processes and services, and to help them gain competitive advantage.

This project strengthens the development of preclinical models in gynecology, a therapeutic area where Urosphere is already positioned with in vivo preclinical models such as preterm birth.

For more information, please contact us.

Project overview

MAGenTA is an industrial research project formed to accelerate the selection and validation of new, effective treatments for major urogenital diseases. It has a total budget of 22.5 million euros. This innovative translational research program will pool technical and human resources allocated to the development and characterization of novel and predictive experimental models of urogenital diseases.

Clinical trial results will validate the effectiveness of innovative preclinical models, while supporting the development of a new generation of molecules. After initial validation, the overall approach will be extended to other tissue and pathological models. The project also includes the development of innovative gene transfer tools, as well as the development of functional exploration platforms.

 

Scientific and business partners

This five-year project is managed and coordinated by Vectalys and includes three other SMEs (Urosphere, Ixaltis and Genticel) alongside two academic institutions (L’Institut de la Clinique de la Souris and l’Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse) which belong to two clusters (Alsace BioValley and Cancer-Bio-Santé in Toulouse respectively).

Project overview

Organocan was one of a few select projects to be funded by the French State with a total budget of 4.1 million euros. The project aims at developing ‘mini-organs’, or organoids, from stem cells isolated from patient biopsies. These are 3D structures recreating the colon, bladder and prostate. This tool brings an additional efficiency filter to improve the selection of drug candidates. It will also help the development of personalized medicine tools (therapeutic and diagnostic tests), as well as contributing to the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of carcinogenesis and inflammation. Organocan is a springboard for the diversification of Urosphere’s activities through oncology and gastroenterology.

 

Scientific and business partners

Organocan is led by Urosphere in collaboration with Toulouse University Hospital, the IRSD and the Pierre Fabre Laboratories.

It is co-financed by the European Union, which demonstrates its commitment to the French Occitanie region through the European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund.

Endometriosis is a debilitating gynaecological disease that affects 10% of women. Understanding the pathology requires the development of appropriate preclinical models to study its biology, identify biomarkers and test new and innovative treatments. As part of its strategy, Urosphere has added the development of in vivo and in vitro models of endometriosis to its portfolio.

Ovarian cancer has a poor prognostic, hampered by a paucity of relevant preclinical models to understand the pathology and support drug development. At Urosphere, we are developing PDXs from ovarian cancers in close relationship with the gynaecology team from the Hospitals of Toulouse.

We continue to develop PDXs from prostate cancer because, as for ovarian cancers, the lack of models and the complexity and heterogeneity of the disease requires more relevant preclinical models to support medical decisions.