RoukenBio Wins Sanofi iDEA-TECH Award

RoukenBio has won the iDEA-TECH Award for Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, sponsored by the global healthcare leader Sanofi. This prestigious prize aims to accelerate innovations in drug development within Europe’s academic and industrial research ecosystem. 

Aiming for Predictive Models of Complex Pharmacokinetics

The project, led by our CSO Dr. Agapitos Patakas and delivered by RoukenBio’s Innovation team, addresses critical challenges in accurately predicting Target-Mediated Drug Disposition (TMDD). TMDD occurs when the interaction between a drug and its target significantly influences its distribution and clearance. It’s a serious consideration when developing biologics like monoclonal antibodies. 

TMDD leads to non-linear pharmacokinetics that are challenging to predict in Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models. Our project aims to address this limitation by developing a comprehensive suite of in vitro assays to generate kinetic data for key factors that influence TMDD. 

To achieve this, RoukenBio will leverage a combination of proprietary assay systems and innovative analytical techniques. The project integrates advanced tools for measuring receptor-drug interactions, dynamic binding, and recycling kinetics tailored specifically to support TMDD studies. Our trademark inducible cell platform, IndEx-2, will ensure physiologically relevant target expression across experiments.

The project aims to improve the reliability of TMDD predictions and support more informed integration of kinetic parameters into PBPK models for biologics development.

European collaboration 

We are excited about the collaborative nature of this project and the opportunity to work closely with the team at Sanofi. Their extensive expertise in biologics and drug development will complement our technological strengths, driving innovation at the intersection of experimental and computational pharmacology. 

“Winning the iDEA-TECH Award is a major milestone for RoukenBio! We're excited to embark on this collaborative journey with the Sanofi team. By combining our strengths, we aim to develop advanced solutions that will expand our capabilities and contribute to more efficient and effective drug development.” - Dr Patakas. 

We look forward to making meaningful contributions to the next generation of biologic therapies. Supported by the Sanofi Award, we can’t wait to see what we’ll discover.