Key events

2004

 January

• Intégragen discovers a gene linked to autism.
  
   February
  
  
• February 4th: to celebrate its fifth birthday, Genopole® organizes a symposium devoted to current and future medical applications of life science technology. The objective: provide a comprehensive overview of biotech innovation in therapy and reaffirm Genopole’s® commitment to the biomedical field.
  
   March
  
  
• March 17th: Bernard Barataud (President of the French Myopathy Association (AFM) from 1982 to 2001 and current President of the Généthon Laboratory) receives the 2004 Service Award from the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of California at San Diego and the journal Nature Medicine. This prize is notably awarded to non-scientific personalities or institutions whose work (over and above progress in human healthcare) has generated new pathways for applying molecular medicine and for the benefit of public health.
  
   April
  
  
• in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), IVF Robotics launches prototyping of a robot dedicated to medically assisted reproduction, which should double the success rate of in vitro fertilization.
  
• April 4th: during the Paris Marathon, the “Interaction Gènes et Entraînement” laboratory (managed by Véronique Billat) performs a novel, large-scale, experimental study on almost a hundred runners. The objective is to study in detail the physiological parameters which determine sporting performance.
  
   May
  
  
• Nautilus Biotech joins the New Generation Biopharmaceutical project, which aims at developing a new generation of therapeutic proteins.
  
• May 7th: Biométhodes announces the start of a service contract with Aventis Pharma. The project is led by Dr Karine Assemat-Lebrun, manager of the Microbiology group within the Biotechnological Processes Department at Aventis Pharma (Vitry, France) and is based on the use of Massive Mutagenesis®, one of Biométhodes’ proprietary technologies.
  
• May 24-25th: inaugural meeting of the NATIBS Consortium (New Approaches and Tools for Incubated Biotechs SMEs). The consortium (part of the European Union’s Framework Program 6) aims at defining methods for facilitating the participation of start-ups in the major EU RTD programs. NATIBS federates company incubators in Barcelona (Spain), Berlin (Germany), Stockholm (Sweden), Tallin (Estonia) et Ramat Gan (Israel). The project is coordinated by the Essonne Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Inno TSD, a consultancy firm based in Sophia Antipolis (Nice, France).
  
   June
  
  
• June 8th: during the international BIO 2004 conference in San Francisco, Genopole® and the Californian company incubator ACET (Advancing California’s Emerging Technologies) sign a partnership contract. This agreement - linking Genopole® to a major player in Californian biotech - marks the start of close collaboration between the two organizations.
  
• June 24th: during a press conference held at the Paris Ile-de-France Regional Development Agency (ARD), Genopole® and Biocitech® (managed by Jacques Lhomel) sign a partnership charter which officially seals their recently-concluded strategic alliance. The agreement is designed to increase the attractiveness of the Paris Ile-de-France region and to boost relocation of biotech companies to the area. The two bioparks will thus act as precursors for the implementation of a world-class bio-industrial cluster in Ile-de-France.
  
   July
  
  
• July 8th: a team from the Functional Genomics Service (based in Évry and led by Xavier Gidrol from the CEA, the French Atomic Energy Commissariat) publishes the first European article on “cell chips”, miniaturized devices that are poised to become essential tools for determining the as yet unknown functions of a broad range of genes.
  
• Nanobiogene launches commercialization of its first product: BioNanoPen, a nanodispensing device for use in the manufacture of quantitative biochips (miniaturized tools for biological analysis).

• The Génocentre conference center in Evry wins official “Tourism & Handicap” status. It is the first facility in the Ile-de-France region to achieve full recognition, with accessibility for the four major types of handicap (auditory, mental, motor and visual).

• July 15th: identification of the cellular mechanism responsible for Clouston syndrome (a dermatological disease of genetic origin) by a research group led by Gilles Waksman.
  
• In an article published in the journal Nature, research groups led by Vincent Colot (URGV) and Rob Martienssen (Cold Spring Harbor) demonstrate the importance of junk DNA (genomic sequences of previously unknown function) in the regulation of gene expression.
  
   September
  
  
• September 9th: the Kenyan Isabellah Ochichi takes silver in the women’s 5000 metres at the Athens Olympics. This sporting success also reflects on the Physiology and Exercise Laboratory (LEPHE), based on the Genopole® campus. In fact, the research group (led by Véronique Billat) had developed training plans which helped the young athlete reach the second step on the Olympic podium.
  
• Identification of a new gene involved in Type 2 lamellar ichthyosis (a dermatological disease of genetic origin) by a research group led by Judith Fischer.
  
• September 20th: Novagali Pharma, a biotech company specializing in drug delivery, announces the completion of a new, €14.2 million round of financing.
  
   October
  
  
• October 8th: Zambon Group S.p.A. (Milan, Italy) and ObeTherapy Biotechnology (Genopole®, Evry, France) announce that they have entered into an R&D collaboration agreement with the aim of identifying low-molecular weight drugs for the treatment of metabolic disorders such as dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, obesity and related pathologies.
  
• October 21st : thanks to sequencing of the genome for the fish Tetraodon nigroviridis, an international consortium (coordinated by Jean Weissenbach’s research group at CNRS-Genoscope) publishes the genomic structure of the common ancestor of humans and fish in the journal Nature. The ancestral genome probably comprised no more than 12 chromosomes.
  
   November
  
  
• Thanks to development of a new “exon skipping” gene therapy technique by Olivier Danos (funded by the AFM), Luis Garcia and his research group at the Généthon Laboratory succeed in restoring muscle function in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
  
• November 15th: Genopole® passes the 50th company mark - 50 companies have been founded or hosted on the Evry campus or in the surrounding area. To celebrate this achievement, a debate is organized at the Essonne Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the presence of Genopole® company managers.
  
   December
  
  
• December 3rd: Genopole® hosts the first official visit of the new French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry, Hervé Gaymard. The visit includes dialogue with the campus’s bio-entrepreneurs and researchers.
  
• December 6th: Vaxon-Biotech announces completion of the Phase I clinical trial of its candidate vaccine VX-001. The trial was performed at Heraklion University Hospital in Greece. Treatment with VX-001 was perfectly well tolerated, stimulated an anti-tumor T-cell immune response and continues to show clinical benefit in treated patients.
  
• December 20th: IntegraGen signs a deal to develop, manufacture and supply its novel DNA chips (based on its patented IntegraChipsâ„¢ technology) to the French National Anti-Cancer League (LNCC).

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