Nanobiotix , a clinical-stage nanomedicine company pioneering novel approaches for the local treatment of cancer, has secured c.€9 million in funding from bpifrance (formerly OSEO) of which €2.8 million is directly attributable to the company. This grant, awarded through bpifrance’s Strategic Industrial Innovation (ISI) programme, will accelerate the clinical and industrial development of the company’s lead product NBTXR3 in a new indication, liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma).

Liver cancer is a major health problem that causes one of the greatest number of deaths each year worldwide, c.695,000 deaths per annum.

This grant supports the launch of NICE (Nano Innovation for CancEr), the first consortium of nanomedicine stakeholders in France focused on characterization and industrialization aspects. The consortium has been accredited by the Medicen Paris Region, a competitive cluster for innovative therapies in Ile-de-France.

Consisting of five public and private partners, the NICE consortium includes partners with in depth expertise in the field of nanomedicine. Its mission is to build a platform to accelerate the development and industrialization of nanomedicine in France by capitalizing on the strong and complementary expertise of each partner.

Nanobiotix ’s lead product NBTXR3, based on NanoXray, is currently under clinical development for advanced soft tissue sarcoma and has received authorization from the French Medicine Agency, ANSM, to start a second clinical trial in patients with locally advanced cancers of the oral cavity or oropharynx (head and neck cancer). NBTXR3 will benefit fully from this platform of expertise and funding received from bpifrance by being able to accelerate its clinical development. The purpose of this project is the start of a new Phase I clinical study with NBTXR3 in patients with primary liver cancer.

In addition to Nanobiotix , the consortium includes BioAlliance Pharma, leader of the consortium which is developing Livatag, a doxorubicin nanoparticle currently in phase III clinical trial for treatment of primary liver cancer; CEA-Leti, the developer of cancer-detecting nanoparticles based on Leti’s Lipidots platform; DBI, a company specialized in the production of nanomedicine pharmaceutical products and the Institut Galien Paris Sud (University Paris Sud/CNRS), which has an academic-excellence team specialized in nanoparticle research.

“Today, nanomedicine is considered as one of the major growth drivers of the global pharmaceutical industry and it is essential that the industry is structured at the local level to be competitive,” said Laurent Levy, CEO of Nanobiotix . “In turn, Nanobiotix  will benefit from the consortium in two ways; if the sector is structured right to be able to accelerate the development and industrialization of products, and in the development of a new indication of NBTX3 which will help patients and build shareholder value.”

The Strategic Industrial Innovation programme promotes the emergence of European champions. It supports ambitious, innovative collaborative projects through to industrialization, driven by innovative medium-sized companies (less than 5000 employees) and small businesses (less than 250 employees). These highly promising projects are aimed at the commercialization of products which result from technological breakthroughs and which not be possible without fostering measures from the public sector. Funding is generally in the €3-10 million range, as grants-in aid and loans which are repayable if the project is a success.

Nanobiotix ’s first-in-class, proprietary technology called NanoXray is at the forefront of a new era of nanomedicine, where nanoparticles are not just a vehicle for targeted drug delivery, but have become the principal active element. The NanoXray technology is based on the physical properties of hafnium-oxide nanoparticles and is used to enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy treatment for a variety of cancer indications.

Nanoparticles are designed to enter tumour cells and, upon activation by a standard dose of radiation, they emit large amounts of electrons resulting in the generation of free radicals that destroy cancer cells (the same mode of action than radiotherapy but largely amplified). Nanoparticle-enhanced radiotherapy therefore amplifies the lethal dose of energy locally within the tumour without changing the effect of the dose passing through surrounding healthy tissues.

By changing the coating of the nanoparticles, Nanobiotix  is developing three different products that can be administered either by direct injection into the tumor (NBTXR3), intravenous injection (NBTX-IV) or topical application to fill tumor cavities after surgery (NBTX-TOPO). The product applied will depend on type of tumor and the patient’s specific clinical needs. NanoXray products are classified as a medical device in Europe and as a drug in the US. They are compatible with current radiotherapy methods with respect to equipment and protocols, as well as with older radiotherapy equipment or any radiation-based therapy.