COmpany
Create new drugs
for treating pain at all levels
History : key phases our project
Founded in 2020, Tafalgie brings together scientists and entrepreneurs with the common goal of addressing critical unmet needs in the field of pain and expanding the current pain treatment pharmacopoeia with a new, totally disruptive approach based on the properties of the TAFA4 protein, discovered by Dr. Aziz Moqrich’s team at IBDM.
Characterization of C-LTMRs by Swedish neuro-physiologist Yngve Zotterman
Creation of the Moqrich team at IBDM Chronic Pain: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms
Identification of the TAFA4 protein (specific to C-LTMRs)
Characterization of TAFA4’s function as a modulator of pain propagation
First patent and First publication
Creation of Tafalgie Therapeutics
Finalization of the first lead Clinical Trial Authorization dossier (in progress)
Key Achievements
GMP Production
On-going
Production of GMP batches for our lead
Partnership
Veterinary field
Strengthening the translatability of our innovation
Proof of concept
Analgesic efficacy
demonstrated in preclinical models, with no tolerance
Comparison with Standard of Care
Analgesic Effect comparable with morphine and opioids,
as methadone, but without the adverse effects
Team
Eric Schettini
- Eric Schettini is a seasoned and accomplished entrepreneur and investor, with an outstanding track record in supporting innovative companies, particulalrly in the Biopharmaceutical sector, as well as in other industries (including finance, semiconductors…).
- He brings financial expertise, strong networks, and a wealth of experience. The commitment and dedication of the teams are a testament to Eric’s leadership mastery and ability to understand grasp thoroughly apprehend strategic challenges in depth.
Laurent Labatut
- After a career as a high-level manager in several international companies (Danone, Pernod-Ricard, Indosuez, Groupe Gascogne), Laurent Labatut acquired solid industrial experience as CEO for 17 years of DRT, the world leader in the valorization of rosin and turpendine extracted from pine resin.
- Following the sale of this company to one of the world leaders of flavors and fragrances, he decided to redirect his career towards investment and joined Tikehau Capital, one of France’s leading private equity groups, as a partner. He brings to the company his in-depth knowledge of complex project management and his ability to lead a high-level Board.
Olivier Blin
- Olivier Blin is a neurologist and pharmacologist, with significant experience as a regulatory expert in the pharma industry. As Chief Development Officer, Olivier is in charge of overseeing the design and conduction of clinical development plan trials, the supervision and management of industrials partners (CRO and CDMO) for GMP-compliant production of our leads, the regulatory strategy, and the engagement of French, European and US regulatory agencies.
- In addition to his previous positions as a hospital practitioner and university professor, Olivier has spent 12 years in various regulatory leadership positions in France and abroad (USA, India…), for example with GSK. He has also co-founded the CRO Thelonius Mind.
Aziz Moqrich
- Dr. Aziz Moqrich is a neuroscientist, Vice-Chairman, Chief Scientific Officer and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory board of Tafalgie Therapeutics.
- He is also a CNRS research Director, heading the team «Chronic pain: molecular and cellular mechanisms» at IBDM. He is an expert in mouse genetics and pain behavior, and made breakthrough findings in the field of somatic sensory biology that underlies pain sensation.
Stephane Gaillard
- Stephane has a PhD in cell biology and biochemistry, with a background in neurobiology. He specialised in the biology of pain and becoming a behavioural expert in the field of pain.
- With entrepreneurial experience (CEO of Phenotype Expertise, a subsidiary of Tafalgie Therapeutics), Stéphane is the General Manager and Head of R&D at Tafalgie.
Caroline Mathon
- Caroline began her career by helping to create, in 2000, of an independent law firm dedicated to providing legal advice for private equity funds management companies. After acquiring highly specialized expertise and experience in structuring the financing of SMEs with high growth potential, with a global, multidisciplinary and «tailor-made» approach, Caroline set up her own consulting firm and joined forces with Eric Schettini in 2013, after more than 5 years of very close collaboration, to focus on supporting innovative companies, particularly in the Life Sciences sector. She brings to the company her expertise in managing complex legal, financial and organizational projects, and her ability to manage support/middle back office teams.
- More specifically, she is involved as legal manager in finalizing collaboration contracts, managing patents, negotiating partnership and service contracts with CROs and CDMOs, …
Emma Schettini
- Emma Schettini holds a Master’s degree in CAR from the University Paris-Dauphine. She embarked on her professional journey in the banking sector, working at Société Générale. Subsequently, she gained experience in auditing and consulting within a large corporation before transitioning to financial control in the industrial domain.
- Since October 2022, Emma has been serving as the Administrative and Financial Manager in her current company. In this role, she is responsible for managing budgets, projections, and other financial aspects of the business. Her diverse professional trajectory reflects versatile expertise in the fields of finance, auditing, and financial control.
Joanie Del Bano
- Joanie Del Bano is a pharmacist specialized in Pharmaceutical Innovation and Clinical Research. After a pharmacy residency at the University Hospital in Marseille, she also owns a PhD in immuno-oncology developing new therapeutic bispecific proteins (Marseille Cancer Research Center). She completed her training by a biostatistics post graduate degree (La Sorbonne) and Healthcare finance certification at MIT (USA).
- Joanie Del Bano successively took over the positions of scientific director for public-private projects in neurosciences and rare diseases, Associate Director in charge of regulatory clinical drug development. She is also the CEO and co-founder of the consulting company TheloniusMind. Now, she is a member of the board and Head of clinical development and regulatory affairs.
Ardem Patapoutian
- Ardem Patapoutian is an American scientist of Armenian origin. He is molecular biologist
specializing in sensory transduction. - His research has led to the identification of novel ion channels and receptors activated by temperature, mechanical force, and increased
cell volume. His laboratory has shown that these ion channels play crucial roles in sensing temperature, touch, proprioception, pain, and regulating vascular tone. - Patapoutian was born in Lebanon in 1967 and attended the American University of
Beirut for one year before he immigrated to The United States in 1986 and became a US
citizen. He graduated from UCLA in 1990 and received his Ph.D. at Caltech in the lab of
Dr. Barbara Wold in 1996. After postdoctoral work with Dr. Lou Reichardt at UCSF, he
joined the faculty of Scripps Research in 2000, where he currently holds the Presidential
Endowed Chair and is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. He also held a
position at the Genomics Institute of The Novartis Research Foundation from 2000-
2014. - Patapoutian was awarded the Young Investigator Award from the Society for
Neuroscience in 2006 and was named an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute in 2014. - He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2016), a member of the National Academy of Sciences (2017) and a member
of American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020). - He is a co-recipient of the 2017 Alden Spencer Award from Columbia (with David Ginty), the 2019 Rosenstiel Award for
Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research (with David Julius), the 2020 Kavli Prize
in Neuroscience (with David Julius), and the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (with David Julius).
Clifford Woolf
- CLIFFORD J. WOOLF was born in South Africa, where he earned his MB, BCh, and Ph.D. degrees. He then moved to London and became Professor of Neurobiology at University College London. In 1997 he was recruited by the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School to serve as the Richard J. Kitz Professor of Anesthesiology Research and director of the Neural Plasticity Research Group.
- In 2010 he was named director of the F. M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and became Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology at HMS. He is faculty both in the department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and in the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
- In 2022 he was appointed the Blackfan-Diamond Chair of Neuroscience Research at Boston Children’s. In 2020 Dr. Woolf was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was awarded a Doctoris Honoris Causa from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, he received a Gill Distinguished Scientist award and the Reeve-Irvine medal in 2017, and in 2015, the Kerr award from the American Pain Society.
- He has published over 320 research papers on molecular, cellular, and systems neurobiology and has 35 issued patents. He has an h-index of 166 and 124,000 citations. His research is devoted to investigating how the functional, chemical, and structural plasticity of neurons is involved in both the normal adaptive functions of the nervous system and in maladaptive changes that contribute to neurological diseases, with a particular focus on pain, regeneration, and neurodegeneration and on the exploitation of stem cell derived neurons to model disease and for drug screening.
Dr. Woolf has founded several companies and is a consultant and SAB member for several pharmaceutical and biotech companies.