Theradiag, a French theranostics and in vitro diagnostics company focused on autoimmune disease, has decided to acquire Prestizia, a French biotechnology company that develops microRNA technology.

Theradiag will gain Prestizia’s microRNA technology, an expert team dedicated to applied research, as well as solid collaboration with academic research and hospital facilities, notably in the areas of autoimmune disease and cancer.

“The acquisition of Prestizia represents a major advance for Theradiag. Its microRNA platform is going to allow us to strengthen our development in theranostics with a highly innovative, patented technology,” said Michel Finance, CEO of Theradiag.

Prestizia holds exclusive worldwide license on a patent for a method of characterizing HIV cell tropism. Its technology is based on the identification of microRNA signatures. This technology could pave the way for a large number of clinical applications, including the possibility of identifying patients eligible to a treatment for viral diseases including HIV or differentiating types of cancerous tumors.

“There is a strong synergy between Theradiag and Prestizia and we are delighted with this acquisition that brings Theradiag a research team with state-of-the-art microRNA expertise, as well as an innovative technological platform which can predict the efficiency of drugs on diseases such as AIDS and cancer,” said Jean-Jacques Bertrand, head of Holding Incubatrice Biotechnology and Pharmacy, the current parent company of Prestizia.

The first application of this platform is already being developed, in collaboration with the Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier for finalizing a molecular biology test of HIV tropism to be marketed in the near future. It is estimated that 10% of people with AIDS and HIV could benefit from new therapeutic molecules like Selsentry. Before a prescription for this drug can be written, an HIV tropism test must be conducted (currently required by the WMA) to determine the type of HIV the patient is infected with, and whether he or she is eligible for treatment.

Theradiag is already working with this microRNA platform to develop new theranostic tests for various pathologies, including cancers and autoimmune diseases.