Fabentech’s polyclonal antibody technology chosen by the European Commission to counter CBRN threats within the framework of the Counteract consortium

Fabentech, a pharmaceutical-stage biotechnology company specialized in the development, production and marketing of polyclonal antibodies for responding to emergency situations and treating emerging infectious diseases, today announced that it has been chosen to be a part of the COUNTERACT European consortium that is aiming to develop medical countermeasures to cope with CBRN threats.

“Within an unstable public health and geopolitical context, the CBRN risk has become a crucial issue with regard to protecting the inhabitants of EU member states”,said Sébastien IVA, CEOand Chairman of Fabentech. “We are pleased to be part of this working group comprising prestigious institutions and top-level experts. Our know-how, technology and integrated production tool have been recognized as major assets for this strategic mission, and we are proud to be able to contribute to the construction of an effective European public health shield.”

“COUNTERACT’s objective is to prepare the European Union for existing and future CBRN threats based on cooperation within the European public-private ecosystem, and we are delighted that Fabentech will be one of the members of this consortium”, added Roger Le Grand, Executive Director of Idmit1 and coordinator of the COUNTERACT project. “We are convinced that their polyclonal antibody technology will be of strategic use for designing targeted and effective countermeasures. The CEA will provide this major project with its scientific expertise and capacities.”

An ambitious project to strengthen the European Union’s preparedness for CBRN threats

Funded by the European Defence Fund2 and coordinated by the CEA, the COUNTERACT consortium’s goal is to develop four types of medical countermeasures, for which two will aim to obtain marketing approval from the European Medicines Agency. Scheduled to last four years, the project brings together 26 partners from 11 EU member states: 5
universities, 3 technological research bodies including the CEA as coordinator, 10 public research institutes and 8 private companies.

Fabentech is the only French biotech to have been chosen within the framework of COUNTERACT to work on developing a first countermeasure against agents that are a threat. Fabentech will benefit from a grant of 5 million euros in this respect.

A polyclonal immunotherapy technological platform dedicated to health emergency situations

Fabentech’s primary asset lies in its innovative technological platform for producing polyclonal antibodies, Fabshield®. This technology stems from proven processes originally developed by Sanofi Pasteur and now licensed out to Fabentech. The polyclonal antibodies produced by the platform rapidly recognize and then neutralize pathogens and other toxins, thus stopping the harmful agent’s progress and evolution within the human body. Polyclonality allows different parts of the pathogen to be targeted, unlike monoclonal antibodies that are specific to a single part, potentially making them ineffective if there is a mutation. Thanks to this unique technological process, Fabentech has the ability to anticipate future risks and to participate in the development of a biotechnological arsenal against every type of biothreat while enabling a treatment to be rapidly developed.

A proprietary industrial site in France ensuring total control over the value chain

Fabentech has its own modular bioproduction plant of more than 1,000 m2, giving the Company the ability to produce several treatments simultaneously (Covid-19, antidotes…), in line with the diversity of biothreats, and hence enabling national and European sovereignty to be protected. This cooperation within the COUNTERACT consortium reinforces the credibility of Fabentech’s innovative and versatile technological platform and highlights the substantial interest of its bioproduction site in meeting the growing need for countermeasures against potential biothreats within the current global geopolitical context.