About us

Developing a new class of drugs for millions of patients suffering from cardio-renal pathologies with no therapeutic solution

V4Cure is based on CEA research into the use of animal toxins as a source of therapeutic molecules. The start-up is focusing its efforts on one of them, V4C-232, with two indications in cardio-renal diseases.

V4C-232 is a first-in-class synthetic molecule derived from a pepitde found in the venom of the green mamba, a sub-Saharan African snake. The potency and safety of V4C-232 in treating volume overload conditions
and rare polycystic kidney disease was demonstrated in preclinical studies.

V4Cure is developing V4C-232 as a new drug candidate to treat refractory ascites (unresponding to diuretics) in liver cirrhosis, as the primary indication. This is a critical condition with an unmet medical need, as there is currently no effective drug therapy available. Refractory ascites occur in 10% of patients developing ascites and affect the survival rate. V4C-232 represents a safe and effective solution for these patients.

V4Cure is conducting pharmacological studies and drug candidate developments, to then launch phase 1 and 2 clinical studies. Meanwhile, V4Cure is also developing another V4C-232-based product as a new therapy for polycystic kidney diseases (ADPKD and ARPKD). These rare, chronic, genetic, and progressive diseases could lead to severe renal failure, with very limited therapeutic options, especially for Children.

References

Refractory ascites in liver cirrhosis affect ~10 millions of patients worldwide

Global epidemiology of cirrhosis – aetiology, trends and predictions – PubMed (nih.gov) 
Management of refractory ascites – PMC (nih.gov)

Dr. Sonia Escaich

CEO

PhD in human biology
25 years in pharma R&D, 20 years in biotech management and creation

Dr. Pascale Richetta, MD

Board member

30-years in Pharma & Biotech industry
9-years on Pharma & Care Boards

V4Cure is a spin-off of CEA.