Last updated: August 3, 2020
Our Mission
In the battle against cancer, ECS Progastrin considers its mission as a succession of relays between Fundamental Scientific Knowledge on the one hand and "the Art and Science of Medicine" on the other.
The final relay, undoubtedly the most important, is the one that the Physician must carry out alone with his Patient, against the disease.
This is why, in order to never forget the Patient, we carry out our mission by exclusively serving Physicians with a single objective:
« To ensure that demonstrations of basic science become effective, reliable and accessible solutions, handed over to physicians for the benefit of their patients. »
Executive Team
Dominique Joubert
PhD in Biology - Project Initiator - Co-founder
Core competency
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Researcher specialist in cancer biology
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40 years in cancer research
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11 patents on the interactions between hPG80 (extra-cellular circulating progastrin) and cancer
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Expert in endocrinology and oncology: signal transduction, pituitary pathophysiology, intestinal tumorigenesis
Professional strengths
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40 years of fundamental research, including 30 years as team leader in international institutes
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Creation and direction for more than 10 years of an oncology department at Inserm (France)
Course accelerators
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Numerous international collaborations and interdisciplinary conferences (biology, history, philosophy, economics and sociology) have enabled her to challenge her results
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10 years as a consultant in neuroendocrinology for the Sandoz laboratory have allowed her to develop her knowledge in applied research
Results
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Listed as an inventor for 8 patent applications, including a major one on Progastrin (Inhibitors of progastrin-induced repression of ICAT for treating colorectal cancer)
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At the start of the creation of biotech BioRéalités.
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Co-editor at Frontiers in Oncology on the Research Topic “Therapeutic Targeting of Cancer Stem Cells- The Current State of the Art “ in 2019
Challenges for tomorrow
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Achieve early detection of all cancers, including children's cancers
Eric Thieulin
Business Lawyer - President - Co-founder
Core competency
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28 years as corporate lawyer
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Specialist in growth & innovative companies (health, biotech, NICT)
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President of ECS-Progastrin, business lawyer specializing in high-growth innovative enterprises, health and ICTs
Professional strengths
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Specialized in high-end operations
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25 years of support to business leaders for disruptive innovation, of structuring fund raising, and sales negotiations from EUR 10 million to 1 billion range (i.e. 2 big deals in Oil and Gas with SCHLUMBERGER, 1 big deal in pharmaceuticals with Laboratoires Servier, 2 big deals in private clinical assignments)
Course accelerators
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After 15 years of experience in ERNST & YOUNG Law Office, he established his own practice in 2009
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He became advisor and share-holder of the first company BioRéalités until its acquisition in 2011
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Co-Founder of the new company PROGASTRINE INVEST in 2015, he is at the heart of the project’s resumption negotiations. He became President in 2017 and leads fundraising and structuring strategy until today
Results
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Successful fundraising at all stages of development
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Major negotiations of company transfer between € 10 M and € 1 B
Challenges for tomorrow
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Convincing people to hop on board and accelerate the pace in order to bring therapeutic and screening solutions to patients
Alexandre Prieur
PhD in Biology - Chief Scientific Officer - Co-founder
Core competency
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Scientific Director since 2012
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20 years in cancer research
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8 years of R&D specific to hPG80 (extra-cellular circulating progastrin)
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8 patents, including 7 on the interaction between hPG80 and cancer
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Doctor of Oncology since 2005 (Paris XI University)
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Master - Innovation, Valuation, Partnerships (Montpellier University) in 2013
Professional strengths
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12 years of fundamental research as a researcher in cancer research institutes in Europe and eight of R&D in biotechnology companies as chief scientific officer (diagnostic and therapy)
Course accelerators
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In 2006, he obtained a VENI grant from the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (€ 208 k) for the identification of new therapeutic targets against cancer
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Since 2012, close collaboration with Dominique Joubert for the development of antibodies to neutralize (therapy) and detect (diagnostic) hPG80
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Since 2016, in charge of the clinical studies that we are running with our hospital partners
Results
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Listed as inventor for 8 patent applications, including 7 on interaction between hPG80 and cancer
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Author of 10+ publications in peer-reviewed journals in the field of cancer
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Co-editor at Frontiers in Oncology on the Research Topic “Therapeutic Targeting of Cancer Stem Cells- The Current State of the Art “ in 2019
Challenges for tomorrow
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To give this innovative biomedical project the chance to reach patients
François Dupoteau
Chief Technology Officer - Co-founder
Core competency
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Head of Technological Innovation
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23 years of experience in the diagnostic sector, including 10 years at Nasdaq-listed companies
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15 patents, including 8 as firt inventor
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International experience in product development, intellectual property management and R&D development
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Master in Mechanical Engineering, and Master of Science in Scientific and Technical Data Management
Professional strengths
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20 years with companies specialized in in vitro diagnostics and health care
Course accelerators
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10 years in North America, in a company listed in the NASDAQ as Director of Business Development and Intellectual Property. Thorough understanding of the issues of the North American market
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Experience with biotech development and start-up funding in the field of medical devices, including products launches and serie A funding up to 90 Millions $
Results
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Listed as an inventor for 15 patent applications, including 8 times as first inventor
Challenges for tomorrow
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To make a cancer diagnostic test available to all patients at an affordable price
François Fabre
Head of Manufacturing - Co-founder
Core competency
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Administrator and member of the ECS-Progastrin Executive Committee
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Head of Manufacturing
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Experienced in production optimization
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Leads fundraising
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Business Management specialist
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Masters in International Trade
Professional strengths
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8 years as managing director or general manager of companies
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5 years in cash and investment management
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Experienced in scale up production
Course accelerators
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Collaboration with Dominique Joubert since 2011
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Her project became his project
Results
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Fundraising actions up to € 16 M
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Drastic cost management to ensure the sustainability of this company
Challenges for tomorrow
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Optimize our products and their production to ensure their reliability and facilitate their international distribution
Claire Bression
Head of the analytical laboratories network
Core competency
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Member of the Executive Committee
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Specialist in process management
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Business School in International Affairs with a Master in distribution and negotiation
Professional strengths
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10 years in Supply Chain in the Automotive Industry
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10 years in Project Management in Engineering for the Gas Industry
Course accelerators
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9 years abroad, in China and India
Results
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Automotive Industry: Organization of just-in-time supply chain for 2,400 vehicles / day in 3 shifts
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Engineering: Project control with contract values from € 5 to 30 M
Challenges for tomorrow
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Structuring the company to ensure its sustainable international development
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Ensure the worldwide supply of our products
The dream of a scientist, the fight of a woman
Dominique Joubert is a scientist with a PhD in biology, coming from academic and fundamental research in which she worked for more than 40 years, including two decades from 1991 to 2011 as Director of Research at Inserm (France) and Director of the Oncology Department of the IGF, a CNRS-INSERM-University of Montpellier Joint Research Unit.
Contrary to scientific dogma, she has always been convinced that cancer responds to the "laws of the living" and is therefore reversible. She is therefore naturally looking for the "key" to this reversion.
In 2003, in her laboratory, her team and herself observed a protein that needs to come out of the tumor cell and re-interact with it to exert its effects on the tumor cell.
She believes that this protein, resulting from a set of disorders linked to the Wnt signaling pathway (highly involved in tumorigenesis), may be the key she is looking for.
She is modeling an experiment to demonstrate that neutralizing this protein can regulate the pathway that generated it.
This approach seemed absurd to her team. Neutralizing the product of a mechanism to regulate the said mechanism, the idea is far-fetched!
To the surprise of sceptics, the experiment is conclusive, demonstrating for the first time that the tumor mechanism can be reverted into a solid tumor.
In a healthy individual, this protein, progastrin, is the precursor of gastrin, it is present in the G cells of the stomach, it is not found in the blood.
In a patient with cancer (any cancer to date), it is secreted by the tumor cell of the organ affected by this cancer, it is then called hPG80.
We’ve so far detected hPG80 in the blood of 83% cancer patients. Moreover, 100% of tumors produce hPG80[1].
Dominique Joubert now knows that what has just been proven will simply change the history of cancer!
She also knows that there is another equally challenging round ahead: bringing together all the energy, resources and expertise needed to ensure that a demonstration of basic research is translated into solutions for physicians, for the benefit of patients.
[1]. You et al, EBioMedicine, 2020 Jan;51:102574