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

Production of GMP batches for our lead

Partnership

Strengthening the translatability of our innovation

Proof of concept

demonstrated in preclinical models, with no tolerance

Comparison with Standard of Care

as methadone, but without the adverse effects

Team

Eric Schettini

Eric Schettini

President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
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  • 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

Laurent Labatut

Chairman of the Supervisory Board
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  • 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

Prof. MD, PhD, MBA, VP and Chief Medical Officer, Head of Development
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  • 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

Aziz Moqrich

PhD, VP and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)
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  • 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 Gaillard

PhD, General Manager and Chief Research Officer (CRO)
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  • 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 Mathon

General Secretary, Legal and Corporate Affairs Managing Director
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  • 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

Committee member, Head of Finance
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  • 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

PharmD, PhD, Committee member and Chief Clinical Officer (CCO)
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  • 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

Ph.D. Professor, Nobel Prize 2021 – Molecular biologist specializing in sensory transduction
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  • 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 Woolf

M.B., B.Ch., Ph.D., Prof. of neurology and neurobiology
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  • 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.

Jon Levine

Jon Levine

MD, PhD, Prof. Neuroscientist
Nadine Attal

Nadine Attal

Prof. MD. PhD, Associate Professor of Therapeutics and Pain, University Versailles Saint Quentin – FRANCE
Deirdre Ryan

Deirdre Ryan

President of Pain Alliance Europe – IRELAND
Winfried MEIßNER

Winfried MEIßNER

Prof. MD. Ph, Head of Jena University Hospital’s Pain Unit – Germany
Laure Lo Ré

Laure Lo Ré

PhD and Research Project Manager
Catarina Santos

Catarina Santos

PhD, Preclinical Study Manager
Nafisatou Drame

Nafisatou Drame

Study engineer
Aurelie Morin

Aurelie Morin

Eng. PhD, Clinical Project Manager
Charlotte Dubois

Charlotte Dubois

PhD student (CIFRE grant)
Paola Pietri

Paola Pietri

Financial and administrative assistant
Isabelle Moqrich

Isabelle Moqrich

Managerial assistant 
Mathilde Schettini

Mathilde Schettini

Artistic Officer and Office Manager
Cyril Ducamin

Cyril Ducamin

Operations Manager Quality and CSR Manager

Partners and CSR

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CSR

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