ArcoScreen wins CHF 150,000 to revolutionize drug discovery
25.08.2021
Lausanne-based EPFL spin-off ArcoScreen develops a novel assay for drug development, which enables savings of up to five years and USD 2.45 billion while providing superior results. The startup targets G-Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), the most successful drug targets in cells to treat diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s. ArcoSreen’s technology, SynScreen, is the first chip-based GPCR drug screening assay that identifies a drug’s mode of action directly on patient cells and in one single test. Compared to current methods, SynScreen improves the accuracy of results by using primary cells and tests in less time with a reduced volume of reagents. ArcoScreen will use the CHF 150,000 to complete its team and ramp up industrial production.
 The ArcoScreen team (from left to right): Lucas Yerly (R&D Engineer), Dr. Margaux Duchamp (CEO), and Dr. Thamani Dahoun (CTO)
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G-Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) represent 35% of all approved modern drug targets globally and 25% of the 200 most profitable drugs sold in the USA. These membrane proteins are the most successful drug targets to treat diseases like cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, or diabetes. Currently, 60% of the new GPCR targeting drugs fail in phase II clinical trials. For pharmaceutical companies, these failures represent a significant loss of approximately USD 700 million and five years of wasted development time per molecule. This high failure rate is caused by the lack of translation between the “decoupled” results obtained from in-vitro model cells and in-vivo in patients. Thus, there is a strong need for new biological GPCR screening assays performed upstream directly on patient cells, as the use of primary cells can decrease the failure rate in stage II clinical trials by 50%.
Graph: Phases of a clinical drug trial
ArcoScreen has developed a solution that revolutionizes GPCR screening: SynScreen identifies a drug’s mode of action—the effect of a drug inside a cell—in a single assay performed on patient cells. SynScreen is the first and only on-chip, non-radioactive GPCR screening assay directly performed on patient cells. ArcoScreen’s technology was developed at EPFL and provides a new method for pharmaceutical companies to predict already at the in-vitro screening step drug failure in later-stage clinical trials, resulting in potential savings of up to USD 2.45 billion per drug target investigated. Moreover, the shorter and more accurate testing of SynScreen enables pharma companies to bring vital drugs to the market faster.
ArcoScreen was founded as an EPFL spin-off in 2021 in Lausanne by Dr. Margaux Duchamp (CEO) and Dr. Thamani Dahoun (CTO). The Venture Kick funds will enable the startup to complete its team and ramp up industrial production by securing additional suppliers. ArcoScreen also intends to further strengthen its client partnerships. “Venture Kick enabled us to grow from a project to a company. The Kickers Camps pushed us to continuously question our positions and give the best of ourselves,” said Margaux Duchamp, ArcoScreen co-founder and CEO.
The ArcoScreen team (from left to right): Lucas Yerly (R&D Engineer), Dr. Margaux Duchamp (CEO), and Dr. Thamani Dahoun (CTO)
Missing: Stephanie Escher (COO)
Graph: Phases of a clinical drug trial ArcoScreen has developed a solution that revolutionizes GPCR screening: SynScreen identifies a drug’s mode of action—the effect of a drug inside a cell—in a single assay performed on patient cells. SynScreen is the first and only on-chip, non-radioactive GPCR screening assay directly performed on patient cells. ArcoScreen’s technology was developed at EPFL and provides a new method for pharmaceutical companies to predict already at the in-vitro screening step drug failure in later-stage clinical trials, resulting in potential savings of up to USD 2.45 billion per drug target investigated. Moreover, the shorter and more accurate testing of SynScreen enables pharma companies to bring vital drugs to the market faster.
ArcoScreen was founded as an EPFL spin-off in 2021 in Lausanne by Dr. Margaux Duchamp (CEO) and Dr. Thamani Dahoun (CTO). The Venture Kick funds will enable the startup to complete its team and ramp up industrial production by securing additional suppliers. ArcoScreen also intends to further strengthen its client partnerships. “Venture Kick enabled us to grow from a project to a company. The Kickers Camps pushed us to continuously question our positions and give the best of ourselves,” said Margaux Duchamp, ArcoScreen co-founder and CEO.
The ArcoScreen team (from left to right): Lucas Yerly (R&D Engineer), Dr. Margaux Duchamp (CEO), and Dr. Thamani Dahoun (CTO)
Missing: Stephanie Escher (COO)