KALSIOM-PORTRAIT

Créée en avril 2020, KALSIOM est une biotech brestoise, dont l’objectif est de développer des thérapies innovantes « first-in-class » pour le traitement des maladies inflammatoires auto-immunes pour lesquelles il existe un besoin médical non satisfait. La société développe des anticorps monoclonaux thérapeutiques modulant la signalisation calcique dans les lymphocytes B.

The result of 15 years of research

KALSIOM is the result of 15 years of research conducted by Olivier MIGNEN, scientific co-founder of the startup, at the University of Western Brittany*, in close collaboration with the Brest University Hospital. The research led to the first patent filings as early as 2014, followed by two significant maturation programs from 2016 to 2019, funded by SATT Ouest Valorisation.

Thanks to several months of support from GO CAPITAL (first meeting in April 2019 / investment made in June 2020) and SATT Ouest Valorisation, the project was transformed into a company with an experienced team specialized in the field of immuno-modulatory antibodies.

Cross-interview with Hervé Brailly (HB), President of Kalsiom, and Leïla Nicolas (LN), Partner and Investment Director at GO CAPITAL

Hervé Brailly is a biotechnology entrepreneur. He is the founder of Innate Pharma, a company listed on NASDAQ, and also the creator of Systol Dynamics MI-Mabs.

At what point did you approach Hervé Brailly?

LN – After identifying the project within SATT Ouest Valorisation, we approached him in June 2019 in his capacity as a scientific expert with the GO CAPITAL team. He had already been involved in various consulting activities for other biotechnology investment projects. For this project, he first conducted a scientific audit, which we used as the basis for evaluating the potential for future investment.

What were the conclusions of this scientific audit?

HB – My role was to perform scientific due diligence and develop a strategy for the future company’s growth. This analysis led to the proposal of a series of experiments to support the validation of the project. These experiments were carried out by an independent contractor before the investment. At the same time, we proposed a repositioning and initial focus of the project on autoimmune diseases rather than oncology. The audit phase confirmed the potential of the project, which was based on an original mechanism of action that could lead to the development of “first-in-class” drugs, with, of course, the inherent risks associated with this type of project.

How did you contribute to the structuring of the company?

HB – In my view, the project justified seed-stage investment, provided we involved an expert in the field and developed a clear plan for the validation steps that could trigger significant funding. I was able to recruit an experienced scientific director in immunopharmacology, and with the support of the laboratory, we built a work plan leading up to the preclinical validation of the concept and the qualification of the drug candidate. This then allowed us to size the financing needs by defining clear milestones in terms of go-no-go decisions over a two-year period.

LN – Alongside the legal and accounting structuring of the company, we sought co-investors. Advent France Biotechnology, another leading French investment fund in early-stage and healthcare investments, chose to join us. In June 2020, GO CAPITAL and Advent France Biotechnology financed the first development stages of KALSIOM with an initial €2 million fundraising round, with SATT Ouest Valorisation, which had been involved in the research, also entering the capital of the company. The project also benefited from the support of the regional incubator, Emergys Bretagne, within the Brest Iroise Technopole.

Since the technology transfer phase, how do you position yourselves within Kalsiom?

HB – I represented the future company’s interests and fully managed the technology transfer through licensing agreements on the patents. In line with my involvement before the investment, GO CAPITAL offered me the role of Executive President (“acting CEO”) during the seed phase, until a full management team was recruited. Today, I am involved in overseeing operations and structuring the company with the scientific director. It is as much about coaching and supporting as it is about supervising and validating decisions of all kinds within a naturally complex project.