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In return for the license rights granted to Ribonexus, Pierre Fabre will receive development and sales milestones payments and royalties on future sales. Financial details are not disclosed.

To foster its pre-clinical development program, Ribonexus will benefit from Pierre Fabre’s knowledge and support on the pharmacology and chemistry of the licensed molecules.

Scientific co-founders of Ribonexus, Pr Caroline Robert, Head of the Dermatology Unit at Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus and Dr Stéphan Vagner, Research Director at Institut Curie, said: “While targeted therapies have dramatically improved cancer patient outcomes, global efficacy of these treatments decreases over time, with patients rapidly developing resistance to therapies. We aim to deliver best- and first- in class drugs that can restore sensitivity to current targeted therapies in those cancer patients.”

“We are very pleased to enable a license agreement with a young French biotech company, whose strategic direction is based on the solid and recognized oncology expertise of its founders. This cooperation was an obvious choice for Pierre Fabre as we share with Ribonexus the same ambition to bring the best innovative treatments to cancer patients. We look forward to providing Ribonexus with our compounds directed against eIF4A, an emerging target to fight cancer and resistance to targeted therapies”, added Francesco Hofmann, Head of R&D at Pierre Fabre Medical Care.

The startup changed its name to Ribonexus, effective since November 2021, to reflect the central role of eIF4A in the translation of specific mRNAs (messenger ribonucleic acids), cancer development and resistance to targeted therapies.

About the eIF4A target
EIF4A, an RNA helicase, is one of the three proteins composing the eIF4F complex, essential for the cap-dependent translation initiation of many oncogenic proteins.
The abnormal activity of this complex, observed in many cancers, leads to the synthesis of proteins involved in tumor growth and metastasis. In addition, the selective translation of cellular mRNAs, controlled by this eIf4F complex, also contributes to the resistance to cancer treatments such as targeted therapies and checkpoint inhibitors.

About Ribonexus
Ribonexus (previously Aglaia Therapeutics) is a biotechnology startup developing promising new oncology therapies. The company aims at delivering best- and first- in class drugs that restore sensitivity to current targeted therapies in cancer patients that have become resistant to these treatments. Ribonexus has established a pipeline of small molecules, targeting the initiation of mRNA translation, which the company acquired and developed through Pierre Fabre.
Based in Villejuif, near Paris, France, Ribonexus was co-founded in 2021 by Advent France Biotechnology (AFB). The company raised €4M ($4.7M) in seed funding from AFB, Credit Mutuel Innovation and Pierre Fabre to start its preclinical activities.