After a seed funding of €625,000 raised at the beginning of 2022 from Family offices and Business Angels, Jalon Therapeutics won the Innov’Up PIA call for an amount of €450,000 and issued convertible bonds subscribed by BPI France on November 29, 2022 for an amount of €450,000.
Paris, December 15, 2022.
- Jalon Therapeutics (www.jalontx.com), a biotechnology company specializing in new approaches for inducing cancer cell death, announces that it has obtained nearly 2 million euros,
- Its first-in-class drug candidate JRT39 is in advanced preclinical development.
After a seed funding of €625,000 raised at the beginning of 2022 from Family offices and Business Angels, Jalon Therapeutics won the Innov’Up PIA call for an amount of €450,000 and issued convertible bonds subscribed by BPI France on November 29, 2022 for an amount of €450,000. In 2021, the company won the “Bourse French Tech” and then the “I-Lab” price, collecting cumulative funding of €440,000 that year.
Created in 2021, Jalon Therapeutics develops a portfolio of oncology products resulting from an innovative therapeutic strategy focused on inhibiting the cellular functions of the AAC-11 protein. To maintain the survival of tumor cells, AAC-11 binds to protein partners. Jalon Therapeutics has developed peptides which, acting as molecular decoys inside the cell, block these interactions. In addition, Jalon Therapeutics peptides bind to AAC-11 partners also present in the membrane of tumor cells, triggering their destruction by membranolysis. These targeted mechanisms potentially address a wide variety of cancers, as indicated by preclinical in-vitro and in-vivo efficacy studies.
The fully patented approach (Inserm Transfert License agreements) selected by Jalon Therapeutics stems from the pioneering research of Jean-Luc Poyet (Inserm, Hôpital St Louis), an expert in cell-penetrating peptides and in the modulation of protein-protein interactions. The project is backed by Professors Martine Bagot and Hervé Dombret from Saint Louis Hospital where Jalon Therapeutics has established its own laboratory team. The governance of the company combines several seasoned professionals in the industry all of whom have strong experience in the development and financing of drug candidates in oncology.
“We are proud to have raised these funds, which allow us to pursue our preclinical characterization studies,” commented Jérôme Tiollier, Executive Chairman and co-founder of Jalon Therapeutics, and David Loison, CEO. The company now aims to raise the capital needed to finance the regulatory studies prior to future phase I/II clinical trials as well as proof of clinical concept.
About Jalon Therapeutics
Jalon Therapeutics aims to develop innovative therapies that inactivate yet untargeted vital tumor signaling pathways. Our mission is to develop medicines that will transform the lives of people fighting cancer. For that purpose, we leverage our deep understanding of stress-related protein-protein interaction networks that sustain the malignant phenotype while not being necessary for normal cells.
This mechanism, defined as “non-oncogene addiction” (NOA), offers potential novel, safer and more effective therapeutic strategies.
Jalon Therapeutics is rooted in pioneering fundamental research and clinical investigations from INSERM laboratories and Saint-Louis Hospital in Paris. Jalon Therapeutics was cofounded in 2021 by Jean-Luc Poyet, Prof. Martine Bagot, Prof. Hervé Dombret, Jérôme Tiollier, Jean-Christophe Rain and Philippe Salphati.
Among the proteins involved in non-oncogene addiction, the scaffold protein AAC-11 (Anti-Apoptosis Clone-11) is a cornerstone component of the signaling networks essential for cancer cell survival, adaptation to stress, resistance to therapies, immune evasion and metastatic potential. Derived from AAC-11, JRT39 is the first-in-class lead candidate developed for the treatment of hard-to-treat cancers.
JRT39 properties combine the broad tissue distribution and cell permeability of small molecules with the excellent specificity and target-engagement potency of antibodies, together with unique modes of action. JRT39 thus represents a major breakthroughto treat advanced and refractory cancers, alone or in combination with other treatment modalities. Furthermore, Jalon Therapeutics is building a drug discovery platform to develop other candidates derived from AAC-11 and AAC-11 partners for the treatment of cancer.
