Since its birth in 2016, Yposkesi‘s promise has always been to support the pharmaceutical industries in their goal of bringing treatments to patients, often suffering from rare diseases for which no or few answers were available. This ambition is in line with the commitment of the AFM-Telethon, the company’s parent organization, a charitable association founded in 1958 in France by and for patients and families of patients with rare diseases. Bpifrance’s Sociétés de projets industriels (SPI) fund also contributed to the investment required to launch the biopharmaceutical subcontractor.
Yposkesi is the French leader in its sector, developing viral vectors clinical batches for biotechs and pharmaceutical companies, which will be used for human trials. The company is located in Corbeil-Essonnes, near Paris, in the heart of Genopole, a leading French biocluster for biotechnology and research in genomics and genetics.
It currently employs 200 people and will generate sales of €18.2 million in 2020. A second bioproduction plant, currently under construction, will be operational by the end of 2023. Eventually, nearly 300 experts will work on the 10,000m2 site. Yposkesi has been since 2021 70% owned by the South Korean group SK Inc.
“The gene and cell therapies that our clients develop are essential, often targeting diseases for which no treatment is currently available. Yposkesi helps develop these treatments so that patients have access to these innovative therapies. We play a small but critical role in this process,” Patrick Lansky, Vice President of Sales and Marketing in the United States.
Although totally independent from Genethon, Yposkesi continues to collaborate with the laboratory on several innovation programs and manufactures certain products for it.
The first therapeutic batches developed at Yposkesi are still in the development phase. “Progress and advancement are solid,” says Patrick Lansky. They target diseases of the muscle, blood and immune system, notably in oncology, ophthalmology, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), but also for liver and heart diseases, mostly in orphan indications for which no treatment is currently available. The regulatory authorities can therefore grant an accelerated market procedure. In this context of expansion, participation in the American trade show is strategic. “BIO is a premier event that allows us to meet with existing and potentially new customers, as well as improve our brand awareness and name recognition within the industry”, concludes Patrick Lansky.
