Two BioWin projects were launched a few weeks ago. The first of these, “TreatBest”, involves a consortium made up of Diagenode, IDDI, the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), the Institut Jules Bordet and the University of Liège. The consortium members are pooling their expertise to support the “disruptive” science being developed at the ULB in the field of personalised breast cancer treatment. The aim of this project is to clinically validate an in vitro diagnostic test (with CE marking) that can predict the benefit of prescribing a standard anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapy treatment for patients suffering from triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive form of the disease. This test will help clinicians to select the most appropriate treatment for each patient and reduce undesirable side effects, in the hope of improving their chances of recovery. The budget for this project is € 3,662,684.

The second project, “Improve”, is being led by Promethera Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company that develops innovative cell therapies for treating liver diseases. The company is now focusing on widespread diseases with a view to expanding its product pipeline. The aim of the Improve project is to validate, at the preclinical stage, a new cell therapy product that will be ready to enter the clinical phase for the treatment of chronic fibroinflammatory liver diseases. To ensure that this project is a success, Promethera is drawing on the expertise of ImmunXperts, the paediatric hepatology laboratory and Institute for Experimental and Clinical Research (Hepato-Gastroenterology Unit) at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) and the Institut Meurice. The Improve project has got a budget of € 1,269,731.