Cancer: a new component tested in Toulouse could revolutionize immunotherapy treatments
After the development of a treatment against cancer in animals, the Toulouse company Hastim is developing a research project in humans. Biotech is using an unprecedented component that could open a new era in cancer treatment by immunotherapy.
Between Toulouse and Dijon, a team of chemists may be opening a new window in the fight against cancer. Its weapon is called hydroxyapatite, a calcium phosphate, the main component of bone tissue, particles of which were synthesized for the first time on an industrial scale in 1989 in Toulouse by Nicole Rouquet, founder of the company Hastim. In orthopedic prostheses and in dermatological preparations, hydroxyapatite is also of interest for selecting and fixing certain proteins, including two proteins derived from cancer cells. It is this property that biotech Hastim has chosen to exploit.
“In cancer, the immune system does not identify tumors as abnormal proteins. By fixing tumor cell fragments on hydroxyapatite beads, the patient’s immune system is awakened and redirected to fight against the cells Instead of fighting directly against the tumour, we put in place a natural defense mechanism”, summarizes Nicole Rouquet.
Treatment kits for veterinarians since 2013
This immunotherapy technique, Hastim has been developing since 2013 for animal health. On the basis of around fifty patents, it produces kits made up of 8 doses of this vaccine, called APAVAC, for veterinarians: the veterinarian dissects the tumor, grinds it and then combines it with the biological compound based on hydroxyapatite . Nearly 800 cats, dogs and horses were thus treated for their cancer (lymphoma and melanoma); Hastim currently responds to 150-200 requests per year. In a study published in 2019 and including 300 dogs with lymphoma, Hastim demonstrated that by combining its biomedicine with purified, survival is multiplied by two, without adverse effects, compared to a conventional degraded treatment.
Lymphoma, colon cancer and triple negative breast cancer
The Toulouse biotech currently has 8 employees. Winner among 35 companies of the France Recovery Plan for health, which earned it an allocation of €768,000, Hastim is now turning to the application of its technology in humans. Increasing its capital by 3.4 million euros, it set up a research center in Toulouse and joined forces with the Inserm research team of Dr Carmen Garrido in Dijon (1) to enter the pre-clinical phase. “We are studying the mode of action of the APAVAC vaccine in rodents, for lymphoma, colon cancer and triple-negative breast cancer. We are monitoring the increase in T lymphocytes (tumor killer cells, Ed) and the death of tumor cells and it looks like we are going in the right direction,” says Carmen Garrido.
Hastim aims to obtain marketing authorization for its biomedicine within 5 years.