Researcher entrepreneur

Are you interested in transitioning from a lab to a startup? Discover examples of researchers who have become entrepreneurs. The Graduate School of Life and Health Sciences and Université Côte d'Azur help researchers develop technological innovations and create start-ups.

Mycophyto

Mycophyto is a Deep Tech startup that is inventing the agriculture of the future with natural plant biostimulants (mycorrhizal fungi).

Mycophyto, a spin-off of INRAE and Université Côte d'Azur combines the latest knowlgedge in the life sciences with technological innovation. The startup develops patented solutions for implementing indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) in crops to restore sustainable natural synergies with plant roots.

The startup is supported by strong partners that include world-renowned scientists, joint research units, technical and training institutes, and agricultural ambassadors.

Justine Lipuma
Co-founder & CEO

Theracon

Founded in 2014 in Nice by Elvire Gouze, a researcher from Université Côte d'Azur and Inserm, Theracon has developed an innovative treatment for achondroplasia, a major cause of dwarfism in humans. The drug caught the interest of the American laboratory Pfizer, which purchased the company in 2019.

Elvire Gouze
Researcher & founder

Yukin Therapeutics

Founded in 2018 in Biot, Yukin Therapeutics explores new therapeutic avenues to fight against solid cancers including pancreatic cancer. Its disruptive approach is based on a new therapeutic approach that aims to boost the effectiveness of immunotherapy.

Yukin Therapeutics was singled out for support by the Cancéropôle PACA and incubated by the SATT Sud-Est which granted the biotechnology company an exclusive license for two patents to promote the research work carried out by the Nice teams of Professor Thierry Passeron, from the Mediterranean Center for Molecular Medicine (INSERM), and doctor Rachid Benhida, from the Nice Institute of Chemistry (CNRS). Their work focuses on a specific molecular target, the NIK protein (NF-Kappa-B-inducing Kinase) involved in the proliferation of cells. Inhibition of these cells alters the aggressiveness of the cancerous cells and the escape of solid tumors to the immune system.

 

Thierry Passeron (INSERM) & Rachid Benhida (CNRS)

Innoskel

Innoskel is a pioneering biotechnology company that develops therapies for rare skeletal diseases. Innoskel has developed treatment options for a group of rare skeletal disorders collectively known as type 2 collagenopathies. The most severe of these diseases is congenital spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (cSD), the second leading cause of dwarfism worldwide.

Innoskel is a spin-out from Inserm's Valrose Insitute of Biology and is based in Nice.

Elvire Gouze
Founder & CEO