Theradiag Acquires Prestizia and its Highly Innovative microRNA Technology Platform
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Theradiag has announced that it is acquiring Prestizia, a biotechnology company that is developing a microRNA1 technology.
“The acquisition of Prestizia represents a major advance for Theradiag. Its microRNA platform is going to allow us to strengthen our development in theranostics with a highly innovative, patented technology,” stated Michel Finance, CEO of Theradiag.
Prestizia was a subsidiary of the Holding Incubatrice Biotechnology and Pharmacy, presided by Jean-Jacques Bertrand, ex CEO of Aventis-Pasteur.
Since its inception, Prestizia has collaborated with the University of Montpellier 2 and the CNRS.
“There is a strong synergy between Theradiag and Prestizia and we are delighted with this acquisition that brings Theradiag a research team with state-of-the-art microRNA expertise, as well as an innovative technological platform which can predict the efficiency of drugs on diseases such as AIDS and cancer”, emphasizes Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Chairman of the Holding Incubatrice Biotechnology and Pharmacy.
Prestizia acquired an exclusive worldwide license on a patent for a method of characterizing HIV cell tropism. Prestizia’s technology is based on the identification of microRNA signatures.
This technology could pave the way for a large number of clinical applications, including the possibility of identifying patients eligible to a treatment for viral diseases including HIV or differentiating types of cancerous tumors.
The first application of this platform is already being developed, in collaboration with the Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier (IGMM) [Molecular Genetics Institute of Montpellier] for finalizing a molecular biology test of HIV tropism to be marketed in the near future.
It is estimated that there are 2 million people with AIDS (in the EU and US combined), 10% of whom could benefit from new therapeutic molecules like Selsentry.
Before a prescription for this drug can be written, an HIV tropism test must be conducted (currently required by the WMA) to determine the type of HIV the patient is infected with, and whether he or she is eligible for treatment.
Theradiag is already working with this microRNA platform to develop new theranostic tests for various pathologies, including cancers and autoimmune diseases.
With the acquisition of Prestizia, Theradiag gains an expert team dedicated to applied research, as well as solid collaboration with academic research and hospital facilities, notably in the areas of autoimmune disease and cancer.
