Servier and MBC BioLabs Announce Winner of the 2020 Servier Golden Ticket

BOSTON, SAN FRANCISCO, and PARIS, Sept. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Servier, an independent international pharmaceutical company, has awarded the 2020 Servier Golden Ticket at MBC BioLabs to Telo Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focusing on working on solutions to treat TERT promoter (TERTp) mutant cancers. The award will help Telo Therapeutics advance the company's effort in developing two preclinical programs targeting the TERTp mutated pathway in oncology.

Telo Therapeutics is developing targeted therapies for oncology based on a unique approach to reversing the cancer's ability to proliferate without limit. By inhibiting the reactivation of telomerase, an enzyme that controls lifespan in normal cells and is co-opted by tumor cells, Telo's therapies have potential for treating a very large patient population across many tumor types. All cancer cells undergo a process called cellular immortalization, and over 90% of human cancers achieve this by reactivating the telomerase enzymatic complex. TERT promoter (TERTp) mutations are the 3rd most common mutation in human cancer and drive telomerase reactivation in over 50 cancer types. Telo Therapeutics is moving rapidly to identify and develop novel targeted therapies for treating multiple TERTp mutant cancers with high unmet medical need.  

Telo Therapeutics is led by a dynamic team, with whom Servier BioInnovation has had the opportunity to interact for several years. Their work, addressing a high unmet medical need for a small targeted population in Oncology, is the kind of innovation Servier has the vocation to support. "We are very pleased to award this year's Golden Ticket to Telo Therapeutics, and we look forward to seeing the team accelerate their efforts to develop therapies and innovative modalities for patients with tumors carrying the TERTp mutation, who have very limited treatment options currently." said Christian Schubert, Global Head of External Innovation and  Director of Servier BioInnovation. 

This coveted prize from Servier, part of its sponsorship of MBC BioLabs, supports a startup research program that aligns with Servier's ambitious efforts to deliver meaningful improvements in patient care today and into the future. The Golden Ticket award underwrites the cost of one lab bench for one scientist to reside in MBC BioLab's open lab for one year, allowing a startup company to focus its early efforts on moving the science forward.

"We see potential synergies between Telo's data driven approach of the TERT pathway and Servier's drug discovery platforms, especially since Oncology is one of our major focus," said Olivier Nosjean, Scientific Director of Research at Servier. Indeed, Telo Therapeutics' bring together a strong knowledge of the biology of TERTp mutant cells, and backing of years of world-class research in academia. They rely on a multi-modal approach, developing two preclinical programs, which is an interesting strategy to address their target pathway.

"We couldn't be more excited for Telo," said Doug Crawford, General Manager at MBC BioLabs. "The Servier Golden Ticket will enable Telo to advance their truly novel approach to developing much needed therapies for glioblastoma. Servier's support of MBC BioLabs and entrepreneurs like Rob Bell is an integral part of driving the entire innovation ecosystem forward, ultimately delivering new options for patient care."

"We are thrilled to have been chosen for this year's Servier Golden Ticket award. The resources provided through this program, and the growing relationship with Servier will help accelerate our mission to bring a therapy to clinic for Glioblastoma and other TERTp mutant cancer patients," said Rob Bell, CEO of Telo Therapeutics.

Governed by a non-profit foundation, Servier is free to make investments that put patients and science first. Oncology treatment and care are the company's immediate focus in the U.S., although plans for expansion to other therapeutic areas and patient communities are under way. Servier's innovation efforts are bolstered by Servier BioInnovation, a joint initiative between Servier Group R&D and Global Business Development. The initiative is focused on identifying new, early-stage R&D opportunities and expediting business development and licensing activities in the U.S.

About Servier U.S.
Servier Pharmaceuticals LLC is a commercial-stage pharmaceuticals company with a passion for innovation and improving the lives of patients, their families and caregivers. In the United States, Servier Pharmaceuticals is committed to building a robust portfolio, starting with oncology, with future growth driven by innovation in other areas of unmet medical need, leveraging Servier's global portfolio and seeking acquisitions, licensing deals and partnerships.

Servier Pharmaceuticals believes co-creation is fundamental to driving innovation and is actively building alliances that bring solutions to patients' lives and can accelerate access to therapies. We are building relationships with academia, venture capitalists, biotech and pharmaceutical peers and advocates with the aim of entering into mutually beneficial and complementary partnerships where each organization's skill sets are recognized and leveraged for the benefit of patients.

With our commercial expertise, global reach, scientific expertise and commitment to clinical excellence, Servier Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to bringing the promise of tomorrow to the patients that we serve. Learn more at www.servier.us.

About Servier Group
Servier is an international pharmaceutical company governed by a non-profit foundation, with its headquarters in France (Suresnes). With a strong international presence in 149 countries and a total revenue of 4.6 billion euros in 2019, Servier employs 22,000 people worldwide. Entirely independent, the Group invests on average 25% of its total revenue (excluding generics) every year in research and development and uses all its profits for its development. Corporate growth is driven by Servier's constant search for innovation in five areas of excellence: cardiovascular, immune-inflammatory, and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and diabetes, as well as by its activities in high-quality generic drugs. Servier also offers eHealth solutions beyond drug development.
More information: www.servier.com.

About MBC BioLabs 
MBC BioLabs is dedicated to helping life-science startups succeed. By renting space as small as a single bench and providing these entrepreneurial scientists with access to millions of dollars of equipment, we allow companies to be fast, focused, and frugal. We now have two sites: one in the Dogpatch neighborhood in San Francisco and a new campus in San Carlos. Each site has a complete molecular biology core facility that allows companies to do experiments on day one, not year one. We have partnerships with leading pharmaceutical and life-science companies as well as a built-in venture capital firm, Mission Bay Capital. These partnerships provide our entrepreneurs with valuable insights about where to focus their efforts and accelerates the innovation pipeline. Our labs have truly enabled awesome: since our opening in 2013 we have helped launch and grow 173 companies. These companies have brought 53 programs to the clinic, produced 13 approved diagnostics, and raised over $4.5 billion! For more information, visit www.MBCBioLabs.com.

Media Contacts
Servier Pharmaceuticals
Megan Talon
857-895-4334
[email protected]

Servier Group
Sonia Marques
+33 (0)1 55 72 40 21 / + 33 (0) 7 84 28 76 13
Jean-Clément Vergeau
+33 (0)1 55 46 16 / +33 6 79 56 75 96
[email protected]

MBC BioLabs
Linda Eng
415-347-8287
[email protected]

SOURCE Servier Pharmaceuticals