Deinove enters into collaboration with bioMérieux to discover new antibiotics

28.06.2018

• bioMérieux will provide DEINOVE with more than 250 strains (130 species) for screening of antibiotic and antifungal activities.

• This collaboration is in line with the scope of the AGIR program which aim is to diversify the bacterial strain profiles studied to maximize the opportunities for discovering new antibiotic structures.

DEINOVE (Euronext Growth Paris: ALDEI), a biotech company that discovers, develops, and produces high-value compounds from rare bacteria, announces a collaboration with bioMérieux, a major player in in vitro diagnostics, to explore new strains and multiply opportunities to discover new antibiotics.The AGIR (Antibiotics against Resistant Infectious Germs) program, led by DEINOVE and its subsidiary DEINOBIOTICS, is supported by the Investments for the Future Program. It aims to discover new antibiotics by systematically exploring the potential of living systems, and more specifically the great diversity of microorganisms.bioMérieux, specializing in the diagnosis of infectious diseases, has one of the largest bacterial strain banks in the world. As a first step, bioMérieux will provide DEINOVE with more than 250 strains representing 130 different species.DEINOVE and bioMérieux have jointly selected the strains for this project targeting a biological diversity. While most current research focuses on a small number of known strains, DEINOVE has structured its AGIR program around the exploration of an extensive and diverse range of bacteria. Capitalizing on its technology allowing to automate and accelerate the analysis of large quantities of strains, DEINOVE aims to maximize the opportunities for discovering new antibiotic structures." For more than 55 years, bioMérieux has taken forward the diagnosis of infectious diseases to improve patient care. We are very pleased to share our deep bacteria knowledge with DEINOVE to support discovery of new antibiotics. Given the threat to public health represented by the rise in bacterial resistance, the search for new treatment options is essential and we are proud to be involved " said Marie-Françoise GROS, Medical director of bioMérieux.Emmanuel PETIOT, CEO of DEINOVE, added: "This is a new example of our approach that aims to explore, as widely and as quickly as possible, the diversity of the living world, thanks to the power of our platform. Working with bioMérieux, one of the leading infectious disease experts, is truly exciting for us."ABOUT THE AGIR PROJECTThe AGIR project, selected by the ‘Investments for the Future’ Program, led by the General Investment Commission (CGI) and operated by Bpifrance, within the framework of the call for projects "Structural R&D Projects for Competitiveness", is carried out by the DEINOVE Group together with the Charles Viollette Institute. It aims to implement an innovative strategy for the discovery of new antimicrobials - antibiotics and antifungal agents - through an integrated and automated approach. Its objective is to develop new technologies to optimize the platform for selecting, identifying, and developing new antimicrobial molecules of natural origin.The AGIR project represents a total investment of € 25 million over five years and will be financed to a level of €14.6 million by the ‘Investments for the Future’ Program.

ABOUT DEINOVE

DEINOVE (Euronext Growth Paris: ALDEI) is a biotech company that discovers, develops and produces compounds with industrial value from rare microorganisms, for the healthcare, nutrition and cosmetics markets. For this, DEINOVE relies on two key assets: • A unique strain bank with 6,000 rare bacteria that have not yet been exploited; • A genetic, metabolic and fermentation engineering platform that enables them to customize these natural micro-factories, transforming them into new industry standards.Based in Montpellier, DEINOVE employs approximately 50 employees and has nearly 130 international patent applications. The Company has been listed on Euronext Growth® since April 2010.Source: http://www.deinove.com/en/news/all-press-releases/deinove-enters-collaboration-biomerieux-discover-new-antibiotics