The marine world is an under-explored and threatened reservoir of biochemical diversity for drug discovery.
Coral culture & sourcing for drug discovery
By cultivating corals in order to explore their pharmaceutical potential, we are simultaneously protecting them. All of the corals that we use for drug discovery are aquacultured, which helps decrease the collection pressure on their wild populations. Corals are genetically analyzed and carefully selected for their biological and chemical properties, and then grown in our, or in one of our international partners’ laboratories worldwide.
Innovative ecotargeting strategy
Our deep understanding of the biology, behavior, and ecology of coral species allows us to accurately target the most promising species to investigate their chemical properties. Furthermore, our aquacultural expertise maximizes growth rates to guarantee a consistent supply of rare compounds. This innovative and sustainable ecotargeting strategy increases the likelihood of discovering potent drugs and already allowed us to identify 30 bioactive compounds of interest against cancer, along with infectious and inflammatory diseases.
Curing cancer with corals
Among marine natural products discovered in corals (mostly octocorals), 41% are cytotoxic molecules with potent anticancer activity. Even though some of the active molecules from corals could be used in wide oncology indications, we will focus on products with at least one potential application to cancers with unmet clinical needs.
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