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Innovative therapeutics to combat type II diabetes
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Mellitech, a biotechnology spin-out from the CEA and the University Joseph Fourier, incorporated in Grenoble in late 2005, is developing an innovative “first in class” therapy for type II diabetes, based on the activity of ZnT8, a zinc transporter protein that is present only in pancreatic islets.
Its science is based on research carried out during the period 1998 to 2005 by Dr Fabrice Chimienti (now Mellitech’s CSO), under the guidance of Professor Michel Seve of UJF. Dr Chimienti’s, and thus Mellitech’s know-how is recognised worldwide as leading edge and as a break-through innovation for the future treatment of diabetes type II.
The Mellitech team has proven expertise in bioinformatics, as well as molecular and cellular biology, and is in the process of developing a new pharmaceutical target in pancreatic beta/alpha cells to provide a new direction in therapeutics for diabetes, in close corporation with institutional and private partners.
The Company has already created industry excitement and has garnered interest from pharmaceutical companies despite its early stage.
In addition to its own development program, Mellitech offers personalized services to both the bio-pharmaceutical industry and public laboratories by marketing new bio-tools such as monoclonal antibodies and zinc imaging probes.
Press release after relevant publication in Nature, February 11th, 2007
Press release EASD 2007 Meeting : type I diabetes antigen
Press release genOway : new mouse models available
Press release : first seed funding
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News :
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2010-06-23
MELLITECH and their academic partners within CEA, INSERM and UJF have been selected by the National Research Agency (ANR) through the call BiotecS 2010 for their 3-year R&D project "Preclinical development of molecular imaging antibodies targeting the ZnT8 protein for the diagnosis and follow-up of diabetes"
2010-04-27
Mellitech will attend the BIO Chicago congress during May 4-6th 2010 at Lyon Biopole booth#3712.
2009-10-05
PROOF OF CONCEPT IN ANIMAL ACHIEVED
Our lead ZnT8 agonist compound has demonstrated a ZnT8-specific mechanism of action in mice pancreatic islets: insulin secretion is enhanced in normal WT mice and remains unchanged in mice knocked-out for the slc30a8 gene. Furthermore, this mode of action is glucose-dependant and should prevent any risk of hypoglycaemia: insulin levels are unchanged at low glucose and enhanced (+60%) at high glucose concentrations.
2009-08-14
Mellitech will attend the following congresses: Sachs Associates'Biotech in Europe Investor Forum (Zurich, Switzerland, 14-15th September 09), Eurobio (Lille, France, 23-25th September 09), 45th EASD Annual Meeting (Vienna, Austria, 29th September to 2nd October 09), Grenoble Innovation Fair (Grenoble, FRANCE, 22-23th October 09), annual meeting of The International Society for Zinc Biology (Jerusalem, Israel, 1-6th December 09)
2009-06-30
Mellitech closes a round of financing with several business angels. The amount is close to 300 kEuros.
2009-03-30
Richard Platford, M.A, M.B.A, former Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (founded pharmaceutical and biotech consulting practices), founder investor & manager in CellVir (Paris), has been appointed CEO and Chairman, succeeding Dr Philippe Barth on the role.
2008-01-07
Mellitech closes a round of seed financing with several experienced business angels. The amount is close to half a million Euros.
More information in the Press Release on this page.
2007-11-08
slc30a8 gene knock-out mouse lines represent relevant models to provide new insights into zinc transport and insulin secretion mechanisms and better understand type II diabetes pathogenesis. They are now available to the scientific community through genOway, a leading company in transgenesis and mouse models development.
Please see the related Press Release on this page and the Products page for more details
2007-09-05
MELLITECH announces the discovery of FIRST ZnT8 AGONISTS through its drug discovery program targeting the mutated and native versions of the zinc transporter ZnT8.
These results confirm the DRUGGABILITY of ZnT8 and give Mellitech a step ahead to design new type II diabetes drugs with good safety profile.
2007-07-31
ZnT8: A MAJOR HUMORAL ANTIGEN IN TYPE I DIABETES
The abstracts that will be presented at EASD meeting (to be held in Amsterdam, Sept 17-21, 2007) were published on EASD's website and reveal a new critical aspect of ZnT8 related to type1 diabetes. Slc30A8 was considered by the authors as a major target of diabetic autoimmunity, whose measurement adds power to the risk prediction in pre-diabetes based on autoantibody number.
More information in the press release on this page
2007-04-27
Three new genome-wide association studies conducted by international consortia confirm previously reported results on SLC30A8 as a strong susceptibility gene for type II diabetes, in the prestigious journal Science.
2007-02-12
SLC30A8 : a gene associated with type II diabetes risk
The teams lead by Prof. Philippe Froguel (CNRS, Université Lille 2, Institut Pasteur, Imperial College de Londres) and Prof. Robert Sladek (McGill University, Montréal, Canada) have published in the prestigious journal Nature a genome-wide scan study identifying new risk loci for type II diabetes. 70% of type II diabetes genetic risk could be explained by these findings, that bring new prospects in therapeutics and diagnostics. In particular SLC30A8, which is the gene coding for the zinc transporter ZnT-8, ranks 2nd among these new genes of interest, and this clearly reinforces Mellitech’s theragnostic approach.
LINKS: A genome-wide association study identifies novel risk loci for type 2 diabetes. Sladek R. & al., Nature, February 2007.
See press release on this home page
2007-01-03
Yves Bonhomme, PhD, formerly Head of R&D and Managing Director at Lipha SA (Merck KgaA), has been appointed as Chairman of the Mellitech Supervisory Board.
Dr. Bonhomme brings his extensive experience in diabetes research and product development to the Company, including the development and licensing of metformin, the leading antidiabetic drug.
2006-11-23
Mellitech and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) have signed a collaborative agreement to identify new genes specifically expressed in pancreatic beta cells, for the purpose of modulating their activity and enhancing insulin secretion in diabetics.
2006-02-06
Mellitech has been labellized as Young Innovative Company
2005-06-20
Mellitech awarded grant of 341000 euros from the 2005 national competition organised by the French Ministry of Research and Oséo-ANVAR
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