About PEGASCY
Pegascy develops molecules intended for oncology, by direct acquisition or licensing by exploring the therapeutic benefits of innovative molecules across multiple indications, or forms of cancer. As an illustration of our strategy, recent awards were recently granted, highlighting the excellence of our initiative:
- In 2022, Pegascy was honored with the Deeptech Label granted by BPI (Banque Publique d'Investissement)
- In 2023 Pegascy was selected among the first 7 Biotechs to join the prestigious Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster (https://www.parissaclaycancercluster.org/en), the French bio-cluster dedicated to research in Oncology, first awardee of the France 2030 NextGenerationEU Program
Pegascy focuses on molecules that have already passed the phase 1/phase 2 or early phase 2 stages of their development. These are molecules that have shown promise in conclusive preclinical trials and that have passed the hurdle of first-in-human testing with an acceptable benefit risk profile.
Pegascy sprang to life in 2017. Frustrated by the narrow focus taken by the pharmaceutical industry in oncology, four oncologists at Europe’s premier cancer research center, the Gustave Roussy Institute (https://www.gustaveroussy.fr/en) sought broader horizons for the innovative molecules brought to their hospital by industry.
- Professor Jean-Charles Soria, former director of the Gustave Roussy Institute and a currently Senior Vice President for Oncology at Amgen
- Professor Fabrice André, current Director of Research at Gustave Roussy
- Professor Aurélien Marabelle, a leading expert in immuno-oncology
- Professor Jean-Pierre Armand, a former President of the European Society for Medical Oncology, former CEO of the Cancer Research Institute of Toulouse and a major sponsor behind many of contemporary chemotherapy drugs such as Irinotecan, Sutent (Pfizer) and Temsirolimus
As members of the Gustave Roussy Institute’s Early Drug Development Department (Département d’Innovation Thérapeuthique et d’Essais Précoces, DITEP, https://www.gustaveroussy.fr/en/ditep), their clinical expertise was enriched by their experience in phase 1 & 2 drug development in Oncology. DITEP’s dedication to phase I clinical trials run seeks to directly address the unmet needs of patients experiencing a therapeutic failure – when oncologist have run out of standard options for their patients – by offering access to innovative molecules.
Striving to expand the range of indications – or forms of cancer – that might be treated by a single therapy opens new frontiers for individual patients and for the entire field. By accelerating research to support use of these therapies wherever appropriate, each success holds the potential to extend a pipeline to a single product. This approach holds promise for patients and can indeed be economically viable, even when seeking to treat rare conditions.
Inspired by their experience in DITEP, these clinical and scientific experts have joined forces with three recognized entrepreneurs:
- Martin Bouygues, CEO of the Bouygues Group
- Sébastien Bazin, CEO of the Accor Group
- Thierry Bruhat, innovation consultant and retired entrepreneur
Our model stems on the identification of candidate molecules by our in-house researchers as well as by our worldwide network of clinicians, all experts in oncology. Our outstanding Scientific Advisor Board selects the most promising synopses, and we initiate them on our own funds. Upon identification of an appropriate molecule, Pegascy’s dedicated scientific teams moves forward, working closely with experts faced with patients suffering rare conditions with unmet medical needs. The team collaborates to bring these innovative molecules back into the clinic to treat these conditions that are far too often neglected by the pharmaceutical industry.
Once its scientific and economic relevance has been demonstrated, its dedicated team engaged and the rights to the molecule acquired, Pegascy invites VC funds and/or industrialists to participate in the project as illustrated by our first project involving Imgatuzumab – a molecule licensed from Roche - and sold to Centessa in 2021.
We are currently about to launch a clinical trial using Istiratumab in pediatric-oncology, while exploring its capabilities in gynecology and head & neck cancers. We are also looking for new molecules and we already identified two promising drug candidates to investigate.
Founders
Dr. Jean-Pierre ARMAND (MD, MSc) – Oncologist, Pega2 Scientific Coordinator
Jean-Pierre Armand MD, MSc, is certified in Medical Oncology (University of Toulouse III and Paris XI). He was recently General Director of the Institut Claudius Regaud in Toulouse. After a position as research fellow in Columbia University New York, Dr Armand has joined Institut Claudius Regaud in Toulouse where he was the head of Medical oncology until 1984. In the next 23 years at Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR) in Paris, he was successively CEO of the Hospital IGR3, head of the Department of Medical oncology at IGR2 and CMO of IGR&D, Dept of Innovation and Development. He founded the IGR Phase I Unit (Ditep) in the early 80s.
He conducted the phase 1 trials of numerous drugs now used routinely, including classicals cytotoxics,topo2 inhibitors, Irinotecan, Oxaliplatin, Taxotere, Navelbine, Vinflunine, and more recently targeted therapies, Sutent, Sorafenib, Temsirolimus... His involvement was critical in the success of 3 drugs that had been previously discarded after failure in phase 1 (CPT11 (Irinotecan), Oxaliplatin and SU11248 (Sutent))
Dr Armand started working on early drug development (phase 1 and 2) of new anticancer agents. He is expert in breast, head & neck, and neuro-oncology. He (co)authored over 300 medical and scientific peer-reviewed articles and he is/was member of the Editorial Boards of Annals of Oncology, the European Journal of Cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Investigational New Drugs, Anticancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research., CISCO journal.
He today focuses on new therapies for orphan treatment cancer diseases and personally invest into biotech in oncology.
Fabrice André:
Director of Research at Gustave Roussy since February 2020, Prof. Fabrice André coordinates the Institute's medical-scientific research programs, in conjunction with the Medical Director.
A medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer and professor of medicine at the University of Paris-Saclay, he heads the Inserm U981 research unit "Predictive biomarkers and new molecular strategies in cancer therapy".
His work involves various complementary areas of research in oncology: from basic research to clinical research, including bioinformatics and biotechnologies. He is the coordinator of three projects funded by the "Investissements d'avenir", notably the CANTO cohort, the RHU MyProbe and the national center for precision medicine PRISM. Prof. Fabrice André is the author and co-author of 350 scientific publications in international journals and is listed in the Web of Science Group's Highly cited researchers list.
He is ranked among the 25 most influential personalities in the field of precision medicine by the think tank BIS Research. He has received the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Young Investigator and Career Development Award.
He is editor-in-chief of the prestigious international journal Annals of Oncology. In 2021, Fabrice André received the Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research from the SABCS and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) for his significant contribution to translational and clinical breast cancer research. Elected to the ESMO Presidency for 2025-2026, he will assume his position on the Executive Committee on January 1, 2023.
Aurelien Marabelle:
MD, PhD, is a Senior Medical Oncologist in the Drug Development Department (DITEP), a group leader in Prof Laurence Zitvogel’s lab (INSERM U1015) and the Clinical Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Program at Gustave Roussy.
He joined the faculty in Oct 2014. He got a MSc & PhD in Oncology & Immunology from Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, King’s College London & University of Lyon. He did a post-doctoral fellowship in Prof Ronald Levy’s lab at Stanford University, California.
He trained at the University of Paris VI medical school and received his medical degree from the University of Clermont-Ferrand. He completed his residency training in between Clermont-Ferrand & Lyon, followed by a clinical fellowship at Léon Bérard Cancer Center in Lyon.
Dr Marabelle is a member of ASCO & AACR. Dr Marabelle is board-certified in Pediatric Oncology & Cell Therapy.
Jean-harles Soria:
is Amgen’s senior vice president of Oncology within Global Development. Soria joins Amgen from Institut Gustave Roussy, where he was appointed director general by France’s minister of health and solidarity.
Soria is a medical oncologist and professor of medicine at Paris-Saclay University. He holds a doctorate in molecular biology.
He completed his training during a two-year appointment at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., where he was an associate professor from 2013 to 2017. He also served at the director of the Gustave Roussy SIRIC Socrate (Integrated Cancer Research Site) from 2012 to 2017.
From 2017 to 2019 he held the role of senior vice president, Research and Development in Oncology, with AstraZeneca in Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S., where he led research teams responsible for strategy and for development of new agents in immuno-oncology, cell therapy and conjugated antibodies. Additionally, he has authored or co-authored more than 670 articles in leading international journals and has appeared on lists of the most influential research scientists in the world.
Sébastien Bazin:
After five years working in several financial positions in New York, San Francisco and London, Sébastien Bazin was appointed CEO of Hottinguer Rivaud Finances, an investment bank, in 1990, and then CEO of L’Immobilière Hôtelière, a hotel developer in France, in 1992. In 1997, he moved to Colony Capital, a private real estate investment firm, to head up its European branch and lead several acquisitions, principally in the hospitality sector (Générale des Eaux, Club Méditerranée, Lucien Barrière, Fairmont & Raffles, Buffalo Grill, Château Lascombes, Stadia Consulting and others). He joined Accor’s Board of Directors in 2005 and, via Colony Capital, became a Paris Saint-Germain shareholder in 2006 and the club’s Chairman in 2009. In August 2013, he resigned from his duties at Colony Capital and was appointed Chairman and CEO of Accor. Sébastien Bazin is President of the Gustave Roussy Foundation’s Board of Directors since July 2023, and has been a member of GE’s Board of Directors since 2016. In January 2023, in addition to his current role as Group Chairman & CEO, he also took under his leadership the Group’s Luxury & Lifestyle division as division CEO.
Thierry Bruhat:
he spent more than 20 years in supporting innovation projects and policies based on cooperation between companies, research, higher education and territories. Its work aimed to design and implement innovation and regional policies and related bodies (incubators, seed capital funds, innovation centers, technopoles...).
He helped structuring most of the French Technopoles, defined the pre-incubator policy of the 1999 Innovation Law and supported the implementation of the national competitiveness poles policy in 2006-2007. Since 2006, he has been entrusted to define regional innovation policies in Ile-de-France (Paris region), Languedoc-Roussillon, Alsace, Brittany, Aquitaine (ICT)… Thierry passed away in June 2021.
Board
Jean-Pierre Armand MD, MSc, is certified in Medical Oncology (University of Toulouse III and Paris XI). He was recently General Director of the Institut Claudius Regaud in Toulouse. After a position as research fellow in Columbia University New York, Dr Armand has joined Institut Claudius Regaud in Toulouse where he was the head of Medical oncology until 1984. In the next 23 years at Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR) in Paris, he was successively CEO of the Hospital IGR3, head of the Department of Medical oncology at IGR2 and CMO of IGR&D, Dept of Innovation and Development. He founded the IGR Phase I Unit (Ditep) in the early 80s.
He conducted the phase 1 trials of numerous drugs now used routinely, including classicals cytotoxics,topo2 inhibitors, Irinotecan, Oxaliplatin, Taxotere, Navelbine, Vinflunine, and more recently targeted therapies, Sutent, Sorafenib, Temsirolimus... His involvement was critical in the success of 3 drugs that had been previously discarded after failure in phase 1 (CPT11 (Irinotecan), Oxaliplatin and SU11248 (Sutent))
Dr Armand started working on early drug development (phase 1 and 2) of new anticancer agents. He is expert in breast, head & neck, and neuro-oncology. He (co)authored over 300 medical and scientific peer-reviewed articles and he is/was member of the Editorial Boards of Annals of Oncology, the European Journal of Cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Investigational New Drugs, Anticancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research., CISCO journal.
He today focuses on new therapies for orphan treatment cancer diseases and personally invest into biotech in oncology.
Dr. Martine George, is currently an Independent Director at GamaMabs Pharma SA, PHAXIAM Therapeutics SA, OSE Immunotherapeutics SA, Global Development, Inc and Pegascy SAS. She previously held positions as an Independent Director at ERYTech Pharma SA, Maat Pharma SA, and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
She also served as a Director at Cytomics, Inc. and the Resource Center For Women & Their Families.
Dr. George has experience as a Principal at Wyeth Holdings LLC and as a Senior VP & Head-Oncology Department at Johnson & Johnson.
She was also a Vice President at Pfizer Inc. and Ortho Biotech, Inc. Additionally, she held positions as a Manager at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Inc., Chief Medical Officer & Senior Vice President at GPC Biotech, Inc., and Senior Vice President at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC.
Dr. George has a background in academia, having served as Chief-of-Service at Institut Gustave Roussy EURL and Head-Global Development at Associates, Inc. She obtained a graduate degree from the University of Montréal in 1973 and a doctorate degree from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in 1975.
Fabrice Barlesi, as a specialist in lung cancer, precision medicine and cancer immunology, Prof. Fabrice Barlesi is a major contributor to research in the field of novel oncological therapies.
He was apppointed General Director of Gustave Roussy in January 2020 and General Director of Gustave Roussy as of 1 August 2021. Fabrice Barlesi is Professor of Medicine at the University of Aix-Marseille and will join Paris Saclay University in 2022.
He has been head of the Multidisciplinary Oncology and Innovative Therapies Department of the Nord Hospital in Marseille (Marseille Public Hospitals) and the Marseille Centre for Early Trials in Oncology (CLIP2) which were established by him.
He holds a doctorate in Sciences and Management with methods of analysis of health care systems, together with an ESSEC (international business school) master’s degree in general hospital management. Professor Barlesi was also a co-founder of the Marseille Immunopôle French Immunology network, which aims to coordinate immunological expertise in the Aix-Marseille metropolitan area. In this context, he has organised PIONeeR (Investment in the future RHU 2017), the major international Hospital-University research project whose objective is to improve understanding of resistance to immunotherapy - anti-PD1(L1) – in lung cancer and help to prevent and overcome it.
He was also vice-chair of the PACA (Provence, Alps and Côte d’Azur) Region Cancer Research Directorate. Professor Barlesi is the author and co-author of some 400 articles in international journals and specialist publications. In 2018, the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) awarded him the prestigious Heine H. Hansen prize. He appears in the 2019 world list of most influential researchers (Highly cited researchers, Web of Science Group).
Olivier Edwards, is a lawyer who advises emerging companies and venture capital funds on investment, merger & acquisition matters with an emphasis on cross-border deals.
Olivier has been recognized in Chambers & Partners where he has been described by his clients as “a very senior lawyer with vast experience in the merger and acquisition process”, "a talented lawyer and leading figure.“
He is a top-tier venture capital practitioner renowned for his fund-raising prowess and is often called the “godfather" of French venture law. He recently integrated the Legal 500 Hall of fame in Venture Capital for receiving "..constant praise by their clients for continued excellence.
The Hall of Fame highlights, to clients, the law firm partners who are at the pinnacle of the profession." (Legal 500) He also has been appointed Senior State People by Chambers in 2018 a qualification wich is seldom granted. With a great experience on cross-border merger and acquisitions deals, and joint-venture operations, Oliver has worked with key players of the tech market such as eBay, SoftBank, Accel Ventures, Balyo, Biom'Up, Aledia, Greenerwave, Pegascy, Highllife….
Olivier is involved in pro-bono activities. He is a co-founder / member of CroissancePlus and PME Finance, two non-profit organizations dedicated to fast-growth companies. Before joining Orrick as a Senior Counsel, Olivier was a partner at Gide Loyrette Nouel and was the Head of European Venture department at Morgan Lewis law firm.
Jean-Paul Alves, BSc in Economy, Graduated from EM Lyon, joined Pegascy in 2020 as Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed COO of Pegascy in 2021 and became CEO in 2024.
He began his career as Consultant at E&Y and Arthur Andersen. In 2000, he joined Lagardere Services as International Finance and M&A Advisor to the Executive Management. Later, he became Financial Director at AOL France (Time Warner) then Group CFO (and executive committee member) of Viadeo leading its IPO in 2014 before joining Biom’Up, a French Biotech, to organize its IPO in 2017 as Group CFO. Jean-Paul has a broad knowledge of international M&A and Funding operations with almost 10 acquisitions (including transactions in China, India, different countries in Europe, Russia and North America). He has carried out more than 23 funding operations during his career, including 2 IPO’s.
Sébastien Bazin, after five years working in several financial positions in New York, San Francisco and London, Sébastien Bazin was appointed CEO of Hottinguer Rivaud Finances, an investment bank, in 1990, and then CEO of L’Immobilière Hôtelière, a hotel developer in France, in 1992. In 1997, he moved to Colony Capital, a private real estate investment firm, to head up its European branch and lead several acquisitions, principally in the hospitality sector (Générale des Eaux, Club Méditerranée, Lucien Barrière, Fairmont & Raffles, Buffalo Grill, Château Lascombes, Stadia Consulting and others). He joined Accor’s Board of Directors in 2005 and, via Colony Capital, became a Paris Saint-Germain shareholder in 2006 and the club’s Chairman in 2009. In August 2013, he resigned from his duties at Colony Capital and was appointed Chairman and CEO of Accor. Sébastien Bazin is President of the Gustave Roussy Foundation’s Board of Directors since July 2023, and has been a member of GE’s Board of Directors since 2016. In January 2023, in addition to his current role as Group Chairman & CEO, he also took under his leadership the Group’s Luxury & Lifestyle division as division CEO.
