Mission

PREDECT’s goal is to compare the pathological and molecular profiles of novel in vitro platforms with those of human tumors. Because the obtention of clinical material presents both logistics and quality problems for ongoing and intense studies of target validation, PREDECT aims to use material from genetically engineered mouse models, and some “advanced” xenografts, whose pathology and molecular profiles closely match cohorts of human tumors.

Consortium History

January 2011: Project launch date
May 2012: PREDECT plenary meeting, Helsinki
March 2013: Coordinator interview in International Innovation
November 2013: PREDECT meeting, Lisbon

Structure & Governance

Coordinator: John A. Hickman, D.Sc.
Vice-coordinator: Ralph Graeser, Ph.D.
Academic coordinator: Emmy W. Verschuren, Ph.D.

PREDECT’s Scientific Advisory Board:

Mina Bissell
Lawrence Livermore Lab, Berkeley
Scientific Advisory Board chair
Bissell Lab

Alan Balmain
UCSF
Balmain Lab

David Tuveson
CSH Laboratory
Tuveson lab

Pasi Jänne
Harvard
Jänne Lab

Andrew Ewald
Johns Hopkins
Ewald Lab

PREDECT’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) first met in Florida in 2011, at the beginning of the PREDECT project, and its advice focused the program within the three pathologies. The second SAB meeting will be in Washington, DC, in April 2013, prior to the interim program review, proposed by the Innovation Medicines Initiative (IMI) for June 2013.

PREDECT’s Ethical Advisory Board is composed of Adam Smith (Nobel Foundation, London) and Erik Forsse (Karolinska Institute). The Board advises on the ethical questions regarding the use of human biological material, such as the transfer of materials between partners, and on the creation and use of animal models, particularly transgenic models, validating that appropriate local ethical permission is in place. When appropriate, the Board will advise on the use of historical clinical data.

Financing

This project is funded by the IMI, a public-private partnership between the European Union (EU) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the EU Seventh Framework Programme and EFPIA companies’ in kind contribution. Large pharmaceutical companies participating in IMI projects do not receive IMI funding. IMI contributed €8.1 million, EFPIA contributed €6.6 million in kind, and other sources contributed €2.5 million, for a total cost of €17.2 million.

Intellectual Property

The IMI intellectual property (IP) policy governs the IP regime of all projects funded by the IMI Joint Undertaking. To assist with specific IP queries, IMI has set up a dedicated IP Helpdesk, which can be contacted by emailing IMI-IP-Helpdesk@imi.europa.eu. The IMI IP policy can be accessed at http://www.imi.europa.eu/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/imi-ipr-policy01august2007_en.pdf

Data Sharing

According to IMI’s IP policy, the participants undertake to disseminate the data as soon as reasonably practicable but not later than one year after the termination or expiry of the project. The project agreement shall include a description of the material, which must be disseminated in accordance with the IP policy and referenced in the grant agreement. If the participants do not disseminate within such time periods without good reason, then the Executive Office has the right to disseminate such results in a manner consistent with the grant agreement.

Impact/Accomplishment

PREDECT hopes to provide more appropriate in vitro platforms both for target validation and subsequent preclinical studies, which will replace a current cascade of tests that are poorly predictive of clinical activity. The project is expected to shift paradigms in cell biology as well as in preclinical target validation where it should permit greater predictivity of drug efficacy in patient cohorts.

Links/Social Media Feed

Points of Contact

John Hickman
Institut de Recherche Servier
Rue de la République 3
92150 Suresnes, France
email: john.hickman@fr.netgrs.com

Ralph Graeser, Ph.D.
Janssen Pharmaceutica nv
Turnhoutseweg 30
Beerse, Belgium B-2340
email: rgraeser@its.jnj.com

Laurence Lapôtre
Senior Consultant, Kurt Salmon
Immeuble “Le Front de Parc,” 109, boulevard de Stalingrad
BP 11259, 69608 Villeurbanne cedex, France
email: laurence.lapotre@kurtsalmon.com
http://www.kurtsalmon.com

Sponsors & Partners