Pierre Fabre Médicament Examines Biosensors in Drug Development

Pierre Fabre Médicament (PFM), a French pharmaceutical company, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, have agreed to a scientific collaboration on the use of biosensor chips developed by the EPFL in clinical studies conducted by PFM.

The biosensor chips developed by the EFPL's scientists are able to assess the homeostasis of individuals (pH, temperature, blood glucose level, etc.) and measure more accurately than traditional methods the concentration in the body of an active agent coming from an administered drug. Biosensors chips can therefore have many applications over the development of a new molecule: In the early stage of a molecule's development, biosensors chips will allow scientists to find out faster whether or not it might be interesting to continue the study, which will increase the chances of success of the project down the road.

In the clinical development stage, the precise measurement of the concentration of active agents administered will make it possible to analyze, almost in real time, the therapeutic effect, and tolerability of the drug. Once a drug is marketed, this new technology could also make it easier to monitor treatment progress and adherence for specific diseases, expensive treatments or drugs with low therapeutic range.

The collaboration between the EPFL and Pierre Fabre Medicament's R&D teams began with a feasibility study on the use of biosensor chips in the development of a drug candidate, IF17464, currently in proof-of-concept clinical trials (Phase II) for treating schizophrenia. The results of this study are expected to be published in the second quarter of 2016.

Source: Pierre Fabre Médicament

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