Truffle Capital, an investor in Neovacs, is a leading Venture Capital firm in Europe, originally set up for investments in spin-offs from companies active in the IT, Energy, and Life Sciences sectors.
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Neovacs, a spin-off from Pierre & Marie Curie University, Paris, France, is a biotechnology company acknowledged as a pioneer in the development of proprietary immunotherapeutics for autoimmune and chronic diseases.
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Its lead product, an anti-TNFα immunotherapy (TNFα-Kinoid®) is currently being tested in Crohn's Disease patients in South Africa and Switzerland. This candidate has been rated as the most promising drug entering Phase II trials in 2008 by Thomson Pharma (a Thomson Reuters' subsidiary).
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Following encouraging data obtained from Phase I/II study in Crohn's disease, Neovacs plans to initiate a Phase II study of its TNFα-Kinoid® later this year in rheumatoid arthritis patients who have developed resistance against at least one TNF-α inhibitor. This study is financially supported by Oso ISI, the French Innovation Agency, for up to €6.4 million.
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Neovacs' near-term milestones include the expansion of the lead clinical program into new indications (H2 2009) and the initiation of clinical trials of a second product - an anti-IFNα immunotherapy targeting Lupus disease (H2 2009).
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Truffle Capital board members: Philippe Pouletty, M.D., Daniel Zagury, M.D.