INTERVIEW. Ahead of the “Winning the battle against cancer” forum, Gabriel Lerebours, co-founder of the biotech Floating Genes, calls for the cohesion of French players.
Interview by Heloise Pons
© NANOCLUSTERING/SCIENCE PHOTO LIB / MEE / Science Photo Library via AFP
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Ddetect cancers by a simple blood test: the promise of Floating Genes, a start-up created in 2021, is not the least. Exit therefore biopsies, scanners and other mammograms… This biotech, which hopes to put its solution on the market in 2026, could well accelerate the detection of tumor genes and limit the mortality rate of people with cancer by treating them in time. . Gabriel Lerebours, a biologist by training and co-founder of this young company, welcomes the momentum launched in France to boost innovation in oncology, but he reminds us that there is still a long way to go. He will pitch his innovation during of the “Winning the battle against cancer” forum, organized by Pointon February 16, at the Hôtel de l’Industrie in Paris.
Point : You are tackling the problem of cancer detection. What is your innovation?
Gabriel Lerebours : Floating Genes works on the detection of tumor genes on a blood sample. This option is much easier to practice than a tissue sample. This is a great way to spot cancers earlier. But that’s no small feat: our goal is to identify the gene in patients that has mutated – due to the presence of cancer – among 100,000 other healthy genes. In other words, we’re looking for a mutant needle in a haystack of non-mutant DNA. To do this, we are developing a molecular technology capable of increasing the signal of the mutation in DNA. It is a public health issue, because early detection of cancer maximizes the chances of survival for patients, even more so than the development of new treatments. Beyond screening, this technique ensures better follow-up of patients, both in their response to treatment and in the remission phase.READ ALSOBig data, a revolutionary anti-cancer weapon
Will this technology be able to work on any type of cancer?
We start with pancreatic cancer tests. It is often detected in stage 4 and is synonymous with a death sentence today. It could become the second deadliest cancer in France by 2030. The only way to remedy this is to detect it earlier and go through surgery. But we could easily apply our technology to other cancers, such as colorectal cancer and lung cancer. Ultimately, we aim to track them all down. For the moment, we are in the R&D phase, we have validated our proof of concept in the laboratory, and we will go into the clinic to test our technology on patients in the coming months, at Gustave-Roussy in particular. We would also like to raise funds to calmly approach this new stage.
Is it difficult to attract investments in the health sector?
Funding is a structural issue in France. Biotechnology needs a lot of money to innovate, but that means taking risks. Here, investors (both private and public) are more hesitant, it is not rooted in French culture, as is the case in the United States for example. Most of our competitors are from America, and they don’t struggle to raise funds. We are starting to face this problem. It forces us to slow down and, ultimately, we inevitably risk losing competitiveness.
Maryvonne Hiance, president of the HealthTech For Care endowment fund, also regrets that, in France, “we suffer from overzealousness of the precautionary principle”. So is it less easy to innovate here?
It is sometimes difficult to innovate in our health system. Some clinicians want to be involved in innovative projects, but they don’t have the time to do so, because they have to care for their patients first and foremost. Innovation comes from research, since it begins where knowledge ends, but it is still necessary to help researchers bring their work to life. As a health entrepreneur, I am convinced that this requires the competition of complementary profiles capable of setting up projects. Once again, the United States knows very well how to bring together the various forces, as evidenced by its biocluster in Boston. It is really time for France to encourage collaboration and to equip itself with centers of excellence of this ilk to accelerate cutting-edge research, but also to gain legitimacy and weight on the international scene.
This is the ambition of Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster, created in 2022: to structure ecosystems to promote innovation and create a center of excellence in the fight against cancer.
This initiative, which is part of the “France 2030” plan – the State is investing 100 million euros in it, editor’s note – is going in the right direction. Floating Genes will also apply to settle there. The idea is to act as a catalyst to accelerate industrial projects and start-ups whose work works to fight cancer. When we look at the stakeholders in this consortium, such as the Institut Curie or Gustave-Roussy, who are at the forefront of worldwide research in oncology, we can only be enthusiastic about this convergence of interests and resources, which hitherto lacking in France.
But there is still work to be done…
The dynamic is launched, the support of the State and public structures like Bpifrance is there, but it is a start. France has some catching up to do. Now, it is time for Europe to take its destiny into its own hands, to give itself the means to arm itself with sovereign technologies and remain competitive in the race for new technologies. It is also an issue for the protection of citizens’ data, which is particularly sensitive in the field of health.