AFM-Telethon

Innovative biotherapies available soon to patients thanks to the creation of an industrial production hub funded by both the AFM-Telethon and the « Sociétés de Projets Industriels » fund managed by the public investment bank Bpifrance as part of the Investments Program for the Future

AFM-Telethon and the « SPI – Sociétés de Projets Industriels » equity fund, headed by Bpifrance as part of the Investments Program for the Future, have decided to cross fund the largest european facilities for developing and producing gene and  cell therapies that will benefit from a 13.000 m² space in Evry, France right from 2019.

This project aims at creating an industrial production hub as well as at leading to an end the development of gene and cell therapies. This new site will be launched with a view to mastering the production of innovative biotherapies in France in order to meet the AFM labs needs as well as those of many academics and other biothechnology players ones whose therapies will need an industrialized and secured manufacturing process whatever this will be for clinical trial or post-launch uses.

This will multiply AFM-Telethon efforts for delivering patients with curative treatments, being enabled to ensure this process will produce a large scale and that these medicines reach the market. Indeed, once the efficacy of these innovative therapies has been demonstrated, building facilities for industrial applications is the next major step to bring it to a maximum of patients. Creating this future reference player is also an opportunity to leverage the excellence and lead of the French research in this sector, and to build up a top quality new translational research economic sector/direction. It’s also about being successful in industrializing and launching these medicines with high value potential for the French economy.
AFM-Telethon will be the majority shareholder of the new company with 54% at start. The firm will have the shareholder equity requested for launching its industrial manufacturing facilities and marketing these innovative biotherapies. AFM-Telethon will realize a valuation through the expertise and intellectual property rights requested to develop this activity and will invest 36 millions euros in cash. Bpifrance will invest 84 millions euros as part of the Investment Program for the Future.

This contribution from the SPI fund fully fits into its investment policy accompanying and speeding up the industrialization process of a technology, and building up a reference industrial player for developing a cutting edge economy sector for rare diseases as for frequent ones, with a direct jobcreating potential of 300.
For AFM-Telethon, which federates patients with neuromuscular diseases and their parents, it’s a new step forward to achieve its historical goal: TO CURE. Its mission is to make available to patients with incurable diseases innovative cell and gene therapy treatments. AFM-Telethon moves into this phase in line with its corporate values and commitment to serve the patient needs first.

Laurence Tiennot-Herment, Chairman of AFM-Telethon: « Since we created the association, our goal has never changed: to cure. Federating patients and their parents, we are committed to defeating rare diseases considered as incurable for long. Thanks to the public involvement in the France annual Telethon, we have funded many studies and created translational research institutes able to develop innovative therapies and to conduct clinical trials up to the proof-of-efficacy. Thanks to this unrivaled firepower, clinical trials multiply and the first investigational drugs come up. We must continue our struggle until the end and guarantee to the greatest number of patients an access to these innovative medicines, at a fair and contained price. Therefore, it’s a real pride and by leveraging our unique expertise that we are committed to proceed further with this next step to the gene-medicine, along with BpiFrance.»

Magali Joessel, SPI fund Director at Bpifrance : “Right from the start, the SPI fund has worked on this project most important to us with AFM-Telethon teams in order to get it emerged. Indeed, it’s both about helping AFMTelethon to achieve its mission, while enabling the developement of a leading player so that builds up a new economic sector and creates many jobs. Cell and gene therapies are very promising technologies, and a final response to several incurable diseases up to now.”.

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