CEA-Leti & Akrivis Technologies to Develop Nanomedicine Platform for High Payload Targeted Drug Delivery

CEA-Leti and Akrivis Technologies, LLC recently announced their collaboration to develop an extremely adaptable, efficient, and highly targeted drug delivery platform for chemotherapy and other treatments that require a high concentration of powerful drugs to be delivered precisely to targeted cells.

The new platform will be based on Akrivis Technologies’ proprietary Z–TECT technology that targets and detects unusually low levels of proteins and molecular targets and Leti’s Lipidot nanovector delivery capability.

Developed by Akrivis Technologies, LLC, a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, MA, Z–TECT is a unique technology platform that combines nanotechnology, molecular detection, and immunology to provide high sensitivity and detection levels across multiple immunoassays and other assay formats, from colorimetric to fluorescent detection in vitro and imaging in vivo.

Developed by Leti and introduced for commercial uses in 2011, the Lipidot technology is a versatile nano-delivery platform based on very small droplets of oil that encapsulate and carry drugs, fluorescent imaging agents, or any other lipophilic payload to targeted cells for diagnosis or treatment.

By combining their delivery and targeting platforms, Leti and Akrivis intend to develop a new, more efficient, and safer platform to deliver high payloads specifically to targeted cells. The resulting targeted nanoparticles will be optimized in a first phase for research and preclinical in vitro and in vivo applications. Then, in a second phase, they will be further developed clinically for in vitro diagnostics, in vivo imaging, and targeted therapy.

“The new targeted nanoparticles jointly developed by Leti and Akrivis Technologies will dramatically improve the effectiveness of both diagnosis and treatment of diseases and reduce dangerous or unpleasant side effects,” said Patrick Boisseau, Head of Leti’s Nanomedicine Program and Chairman of the European Technology Platform – Nanomedicine (ETPN). “While specifically designed to meet the needs of pharmaceutical and biotech companies, the new platform will be customizable for other end-user applications such as diagnostics and theranostics.”

“Detecting disease earlier and delivering the precise drug dosage at the right place at the right moment are major steps toward improving patient diagnosis and treatment as well as controlling healthcare costs,” said Joel Berniac, CEO of Akrivis Technologies. “Akrivis and Leti have highly complementary nanomed technology platforms that will come together and offer physicians powerful new options for diagnosis and treatment.”

Supported by AEPI, the Grenoble-Isère economic development agency, Akrivis Technologies and Leti created a joint lab, which was launched on June 2. “Leti’s collaboration with Akrivis Technologies underscores Grenoble’s strengths as a center for nanomedicine R&D, and we are very pleased that they chose Leti and Grenoble for this exciting research and development project,” said Joëlle Seux, AEPI Director.

By creating innovation and transferring it to industry, Leti is the bridge between basic research and production of micro- and nanotechnologies that improve the lives of people around the world. Backed by its portfolio of 2,200 patents, Leti partners with large industrials, SMEs, and start-ups to tailor advanced solutions that strengthen their competitive positions. It has launched more than 50 start-ups. For more information, visit www.leti.fr.

Akrivis Technologies, LLC is a privately held biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, MA, committed to the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of serious and life-threatening diseases based on its patented Z-TECTTM technology platform.For more information, visit www.akrivis.com.