Ipsen, a global biopharmaceutical company represented by Claude Bertrand, executive vice president, R&D and chief scientific officer, and Institut de cancérologie Gustave Roussy (IGR, Villejuif), a leading international cancer centre represented by Professor Alexander Eggermont, general director, announced the signature of a partnership in the area of medical oncology to leverage the combined expertises of their respective R&D teams. This 3 year agreement was signed on 27 June 2011.
Facing the complexity of the current challenges of cancer treatment, the common commitment of Institut Gustave Roussy and Ipsen through their partnership will result in: the identification of innovative therapeutic targets involved in the development process of cancers, the optimization of joined new therapeutic and biomarker programmes so as to accelerate the transition between preclinical development towards clinical proof of concept studies and eventually, the design and implementation of the most relevant clinical studies for patient care.
In the current development paradigm of personalized treatments for cancers, this collaboration between Institut Gustave Roussy and Ipsen will be beneficial in contributing, for certain cancers, especially in uro-oncology, to a more accurate understanding of the dysregulated biological pathways which favour their progression.
Beyond its interest for the selection of therapeutic targets, this partnership will enable Ipsen and Institut Gustave Roussy to cross-fertilize their medical and scientific experiences, in particular in the area of early therapeutic development.
Pr. Alexander Eggermont, general director of Institut Gustave Roussy stated : “This partnership with Ipsen comes within Institut Gustave Roussy’s global strategy to cooperate with the pharmaceutical industry so as to assess potentially promising novel targeted therapies in oncology and to identify their efficacy biomarkers in order to offer patients an access to therapeutic innovation and to increase their chances of cure.”
“We are pleased to enter into this collaboration agreement with Institut Gustave Roussy, a recognised centre of excellence for translational medicine in oncology” stated Claude Bertrand, executive vice-president R&D and chief scientific officer of Ipsen. “Our shared purpose is to develop and deploy personalized medicine programmes at all stages of Research and Development. This unique opportunity through the cross-entity synergies will speed up the development of innovative healthcare solutions. This partnership perfectly fits with Ipsen’s strategy of collaborating with first class academic institutions worldwide to discover innovative compounds in its specialized disease areas, especially in uro-oncology, and to place patient needs at the core of R&D policy.”
The Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR, Villejuif, France), leading European Comprehensive Cancer Centre, is a non profit academic entity belonging to the French public hospital service and that is authorized to receive donations and legacies. IGR is a wholly patient-oriented centre with global expertise and the mission to fight cancer.
Ipsen is a global biopharmaceutical specialty care group and its ambition is to become a global leader in the treatment of targeted debilitating diseases.