Lausanne-based Limula has just been awarded funding for its second Innosuisse project, and has won the Swiss Technology Award 2022 in the 'Inventors' category. The Lausanne-based company is revolutionizing cancer cell and gene therapy by simplifying the manufacturing process, using an innovative bioreactor to produce these highly personalized treatments at scale and on demand.
In cell therapy, patients' immune cells are harvested and modified to recognize and fight cancer cells, before being re-injected. Unfortunately, the cost of this therapy is high, and the infrastructure required for its implementation is significant, as the harvested cells are sent to a specialized center for manual processing. Limula's platform enables cells to be handled in a single instrument, in a fully automated way, simplifying the procedure and reducing costs.
It was after completing his doctoral thesis in chemistry, and in his spare time, that Yann Pierson, Limula's CTO, invented, patented and built a prototype of the technology. Together with CEO Luc Henry, they approached Alliance in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, to apply for an Innosuisse WIP - an innovation project without an economic partner - to improve the bioreactor and test the concept on human cells, in collaboration with EPFL, UNIGE and HEIG-VD. With the help of Pascale van Landuyt, the WIP was accepted and the proof of concept was achieved. "Alliance enabled us to adapt our proposal, refine it and greatly improve certain aspects. This help was decisive in obtaining the WIP", recalls Luc Henry. The company was created in November 2020, following a meeting with Thomas Eaton, currently COO.
Today, Limula is working on the development and industrialization of its first product, which should be on the market within 2 years. But they also want to go further. "We want to extend the scope of our platform to next-generation cell therapies that require non-viral gene transfer strategies. So we immediately thought of Alliance to help us apply for Innosuisse funding", explains Luc Henry. After a critical review by Élise Gortchacow and Philippe Nasch, the Innosuisse project was submitted and accepted. The funding will enable the Limula team to benefit from the expertise of researchers at the University of Geneva to develop breakthrough innovations that will later be integrated into their bioreactor.