The News

DIATOS N.V.’s oncology research boosted by significant funding

16/02/2005

– Diatos N.V. is the Belgian Subsidiary of Diatos S.A., a Paris-based Biopharmaceutical Company –

LEUVEN, BELGIUM– February 16, 2005 – Diatos N.V. announced today that its oncology research programme in Leuven received significant support through a grant from the Flemish Institute for Science and Technology (IWT). Diatos N.V. focuses its research on anti-cancer prodrugs, based on one of Diatos’s two core technology platforms, known as Tumor-Selective Prodrug Technology (TSP).  The funding of 650,000 Euros over the next two years will be applied to extend the TSP concept to the development of cytokines prodrugs with anti-tumor activity.

Using Diatos’s proprietary TSP technology allows the targeted delivery of prodrugs to tumor sites, where a linker peptide is cleaved off and the active compound is released locally. It has several advantages over conventional chemotherapy, including higher doses, reduced toxicity and increased efficacy.

“We are very pleased with this financial boost in our quest to develop safer and better cancer medicines,” said Dr. Henk Snyman, Managing Director of Diatos N.V.  “The IWT grant and support further strengthens our ties with Flanders and our activities and profile in Belgium.”

Prof. André Trouet, Chief Scientific Advisor of Diatos, with a longstanding expertise in the field of targeted tumor therapies, further commented: “This grant will expedite our program and enhance our focus on innovative oncology research, with a view to contribute products into the Diatos pipeline and ultimately improve the lives of many cancer patients.”

About Diatos
Diatos is a product-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of novel anti-cancer therapies.  The company’s therapeutic candidates DTS-201 and DTS-301, respectively a doxorubicin prodrug and a novel paclitaxel formulation, are planned to enter Phase I and Phase II clinical trials in 2005.  Diatos is also expanding its product pipeline with new compounds that utilize the Diatos Peptide Vector (DPV) intra-cellular/intra-nuclear VectoCell® delivery technology or its Tumor-Selective Prodrug (TSP) technology as well as with in-licensed clinical-stage cancer therapies.  Diatos has entered into research collaboration agreements with several European and US biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies for the use of DPV technology.

Founded in 1999 as a spin-off from Institut Pasteur, Diatos has raised 33 million Euros to date from Sofinnova Partners (France), GIMV (Belgium), InterWest Partners (USA), Credit Agricole Private Equity (France), AGF Private Equity (France), Innoven Partenaires (France), Société Générale Asset Management (France), NIF Ventures (Japan), Biotech Fund Flanders (Belgium), Sopartec (Belgium) and Institut Pasteur (France).  Diatos has 43 employees, is headquartered in Paris and has operations in Belgium and the US.

Contacts  :

DIATOS N.V. 
Dr Henk Snyman, 
Managing Director 
+32 478 45 60 77 
hsnyman@diatos.com 

 

DIATOS S.A.
John Tchelingerian, Ph.D., President & CEO
c/o Astrid Heinesch, Assistant to General Management
+33-(0)1-53-80-93-62
jtchelingerian@diatos.com