© BioWin
At the same time, BioWin intends to support the Region by supporting and promoting the decompartmentalization of the hospital and corporate worlds.
Dosing of first patient high dose in ongoing clinical trial with our therapeutic cancer vaccine candidate for non-small cell lung cancer
The health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is leading to a profound reflection on the organisation of healthcare systems and has opened up new perspectives on bringing innovation into hospitals.
© BioWin
The COVID-19 health crisis has already helped remove certain barriers between hospitals and business. Collaborations between hospitals, business and academics have resulted in many technological, digital, or organizational innovations being created in record time.
Eric Halioua, CEO of PDC*line Pharma
In the future, the momentum for this type of innovation needs to be extended and accelerated.
PDC*line Pharma, a clinical stage biotech company developing a new class of potent and scalable active immunotherapies for cancers, announced in September that two new cohorts have been opened in the PDC-LUNG-101 phase I/II clinical trial with its therapeutic cancer vaccine candidate PDC*lung01 for non-small cell lung cancer.
What do you think are the great challenges to come for the Walloon biotech and medtech sector? I see three. The first challenge is undoubtedly to guarantee the training of qualified personnel for our companies. BioWin must anticipate the needs of its members. It must also be proactive with the government so that strategies can be put in place to secure a sufficient supply of skilled labour.
Following the completion of its first “low dose” cohort in adjuvant setting, the study’s Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB) reviewed the safety data. No dose-limiting toxicity was observed. This allowed the opening of two cohorts: one assessing PDC*lung01 as a single agent in adjuvant setting at “high dose”, which already includes one patient, and one assessing PDC*lung01 at “low dose” added to the pembrolizumab monotherapy in first line Stage IV setting.
The second challenge is essential and a crucial issue in Europe, and is to support and fund high-quality early development and fundamental research, because that is from where future therapeutic applications will come.
“We are delighted to have achieved this important milestone in our NSCLC clinical trial, which is progressing well. We look forward to further evaluating the profile of PDC*lung01 in a larger number of patients with this lifethreatening disease,” said Eric Halioua, CEO of PDC*line Pharma.
The third challenge, for Wallonia and the European Union, is to create a context that favours the growth of SMEs. Wallonia’s SMEs currently employ an average of 30 to 50 people; this total could rise to between 200 and 400 employees if the government were to introduce the right tax incentives and financial instruments. 115
