Posted on February 15, 2023|by Thierry Lucas
The company produces cell membrane proteins that are targets for future drug development. Several high-quality target proteins, intended for pharmaceutical laboratories and biotechnology companies, will be marketed this year.
Cell membrane proteins are targets for the development of new drugs against many diseases. Research and development programs therefore need these target proteins, functional and stabilized in their natural state. This is what Calixar offers, resulting from research carried out by the Drug Resistance & Membrane Proteins (DRMP) team of the Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry Laboratory (MMSB, CNRS/Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University) at the IBCP (Institute of Biology and Chemistry of Proteins). Calixar isolates and stabilizes target proteins – which are all therapeutic sites – on behalf of pharmaceutical laboratories and biotechnology companies.
The technology developed by Calixar to extract and stabilize these membrane targets in solution is based on 3 CNRS patents from the DRMP team. The stabilizing detergents of these patents were designed by Pierre Falson and his team to better interact with the membrane region, and thus compensate for the absence of lipids which, in the membrane, contribute to maintaining the structure of this region. They are therefore key tools for the isolation and stabilization of new membrane protein targets.
“Today, this contract research activity represents the major part of our turnover (+35% growth in 2022), the rest being realized in the sale of proteins of interest and protein stabilization reagents. But three years ago, we launched an investment plan of one million euros in the development of our portfolio of target proteins, which we are gradually bringing to market.”
Emmanuel Dejean
CEO of Calixar, and co-founder with Pierre Falson, CNRS research director, DRMP team leader
As part of the government's recovery plan, Calixar welcomes two post-doctoral researchers from Pierre Falson's team, co-funded over two years by the CNRS, to develop around ten new target proteins of interest. The company also welcomes an Inserm researcher under the same conditions. At least four target proteins should be launched this year.
While continuing its contract research activity, carried out almost entirely for export (and more than 50% in the United States), Calixar will thus develop an activity of selling exclusive licenses on its own target proteins. The targeted therapeutic areas are very broad: cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.
The technology developed by Calixar to extract and stabilize these membrane targets in solution is based on 3 CNRS patents from the DRMP team. The stabilizing detergents of these patents were designed by Pierre Falson and his team to better interact with the transmembrane domain, and thus compensate for the absence of lipids which, in the membrane, contribute to maintaining the structure of this region. They are therefore key tools for the isolation and stabilization of new membrane protein targets.
