Biophytis awarded €1.5m to combat sarcopenic obesity

26 September 2012

Biophytis, which is based in Biocitech technology park in Paris, has been selected for a €1.5 million grant for its SARCOB project following the 12th tender issued by France’s Single Interministerial Fund.

The purpose of the SARCOB project, sponsored by Medicen, one of France’s competition clusters, is to develop products for preventing and treating sarcopenic obesity.

This condition is affecting growing numbers of elderly people and is characterized by an accelerated loss of muscular mass and force, leading to a very crippling decline in mobility. The prevalence of obesity among the over-50s in Europe is around 16% for men and 18% for women (according to the SHARE Wave Two Study, 2008). In the US, the prevalence of obesity is estimated at 37% in people over 60 for 2010 (source: Journal of American Geriatrics Society, 2004).

The SARCOB project is led by Biophytis, a start-up specialized in nutrition that has been located at Biocitech since 2009. Also participating in the project is another start-up, Metabrain Research, which provides preclinical research services, as well as internationally renowned interdisciplinary university research teams from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris (the Institute of Myology, the Institute of Cardiometabolism and Nutrition, and the Biosipe Laboratory), AgroParisTech and the National Agronomic Research Institute (INRA) in Clermont-Ferrand.

These organizations are pooling their complementary expertise in the areas of muscular ageing, obesity and nutrition to develop innovative solutions based on natural substances of nutritional interest for preventing and treating sarcopenic obesity.

“We are delighted to have obtained this funding for a project that is aimed at both preventing and treating an old person’s pathology, an area where there are many unmet needs,” said the founder of Biophytis, Stanislas Veillet.

“With its focus on health and nutrition, Biophytis is emblematic of the Biocitech technology park’s development towards new approaches in human therapeutics,” said the president of Biocitech, Jean-François Boussard. “Biocitech and its residents have created a local network that encourages company development. We are pleased to see that it facilitates the conclusion of agreements and funding deals with top-drawer public and private institutions.”

 

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