Firm will collaborate with Inserm to progress immunosuppressives into the clinic.
French biopharma company TcL Pharma received a €2.2 million (about $3.15 million) grant from the French National Research Agency to help fund its Tolestim project, which focuses on long-acting CD28 antagonists for the improved tolerance in transplantation.
The research project will involve a collaboration between TcL and and Inserm laboratory, which has developed a new approach to immunosuppression based on selective CD28 antagonists. TcL’s role will include preclinical validation of the immunomodulatory effects of CD28, preparation for Phase I and IIa trials in healthy volunteers and kidney transplant patients, plus development of an industrial-scale biomanufacturing process.
The ANR grant comes just weeks after TcL completed a €1 million (roughly $1.43 million) equity financing round as part of France’s TEPA economic stimulus package.
