Sanofi and the Curie Institute, through its Curie-Cancer partnership under the Institut Carnot label, have established a three-year research collaboration to identify new therapeutic targets for the development of treatments for ovarian cancer. The aim of the collaboration between Sanofi and Curie-Cancer is to revisit the basic biology of this type of cancer through a translational research approach.

The Institut Curie has a large collection of cryopreserved tumour samples that are well characterized clinically, histologically and biologically. These can be analysed to identify biological targets relevant to the effective treatment of certain types of cancer. Through this collaboration, Sanofi and Curie-Cancer expect to gain a better understanding of the molecular alterations that characterize many types of ovarian cancer, thereby enabling effective new drugs to be designed.

"We hope this type of long-term collaboration will ultimately open up perspectives for new therapeutic options for women with this disease. It will combine the accumulated knowledge on ovarian cancer gathered over many years by oncologists and biologists at the Institut Curie with the expertise of researchers from Sanofi’s research and product development teams," said Dr Debasish Roychowdhury, senior vice president and head of Sanofi Oncology. "Established under the Aviesan partnership, this research agreement is a good example of translational research involving French scientific excellence.”

"It is hard currently to tackle ovarian cancer, and there are very few drugs available. To potentially provide our patients with additional therapeutic solutions, we are very happy to collaborate with Sanofi, whose expertise in the selection of therapeutic targets is complementary to the know-how and technology platforms developed at the Institut Curie," said Damien Salauze, director of Curie-Cancer.

Using technology platforms developed by the Institut Curie by Xavier Sastre-Garau and Sergio Roman-Roman groups, this programme will make it possible to sequence molecules expressed by the tumour genome, compare the sequences of those obtained with non-tumour tissues from the same patients, and then clarify and validate the nature of the molecular alterations that are identified. Sanofi’s expertise in the selection of therapeutic targets will then guide an assessment of the tumour's ability to be inhibited or stimulated by drugs.

Ovarian cancer is still difficult to treat, despite recent advances. The main risk factor is advancing age, as well as a known hereditary factor in five to 10 per cent of cases. They are most often diagnosed late. The current therapeutic strategy of combining surgery and chemotherapy is effective, but relapses are frequent and the condition gradually becomes resistant to medical treatment.

Curie-Cancer is the body responsible for developing Institut Curie’s industry partnership activities. It oversees the institute’s existing industry partnerships as well as areas of high potential interest to industry partners. Institut Curie’s 1,200 researchers provide the high level of expertise in oncology required to collaborate with industry partners in creating and subsequently developing cancer therapies.

Sanofi Oncology is a global division of Sanofi, is dedicated to translating science into effective therapeutics that address unmet medical needs for cancer and organ transplant patients.

Sanofi, an integrated global healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients’ needs. Sanofi has core strengths in the field of healthcare with seven growth platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs, consumer healthcare, emerging markets, animal health and the new Genzyme.