President, Chief Executive Officer & Director, Iteos Therapeutics
Search every verified Michel Detheux interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Michel Detheux, CEO of iTeos Therapeutics, has described the company as one of the few able to work on both antibodies and small molecules, developing original combinations in the immuno-oncology field. He stated that the company started with the program IOA-244, which he described as the first small molecule manipulator of a chemical resistance mechanism used by tumors to escape the immune system. Detheux noted that IOA-244 was partnered with Pfizer at the lead optimization stage, a deal he called transformative, enabling the company to start five new programs and grow from seven to forty people in less than three years. He also said the company developed a best-in-class small molecule A2a antagonist tailored for immuno-oncology, and that most competitors use compounds initially developed for Parkinson's disease that do not work effectively in tumors. Detheux has stated that iTeos has a comfortable cash position, supported by historical investors and non-dilutive funding from the Belgium state and the Walloon region. He said the company has the capacity and expertise to go up to clinical proof of concept, and would be interested in a partner to help accelerate and expand clinical validation. Detheux has positioned the future of immuno-oncology as going beyond PD-1 and PD-L1, targeting patient subpopulations that are refractory or relapse from current therapies.
“We are one of the few companies being able to work both on antibodies and small molecules and we are developing new combinations that could be original in the field.”
“We started with one program, IOA-244, which was the first small molecule manipulator described as a chemical resistance from the immune system to allow the tumor to escape and grow.”
“We have partnered IOA-244 with Pfizer and it is currently in phase one clinical trials.”
“We have developed a best-in-class small molecule A2a antagonist tailored for immuno-oncology that will reach the clinics in the near future.”
“Most competitors use compounds initially developed for Parkinson's disease and apply them to immuno-oncology, but we have shown that these compounds do not work effectively in tumors.”
“We have a very comfortable cash position, strongly supported by our historical investors as well as the Belgium state and the Walloon region, which have provided non-dilutive funding.”
“We partnered IOA-244 quite early at the lead optimization stage when we were a company of seven people; the deal has been transformative, allowing us to start five new programs and grow to forty people in less than three years.”
“We are finalizing the validation of biomarkers for patient selection and pharmacodynamic measurements and plan to go into clinics in 2018.”
“The future in immuno-oncology is to position pipelines to go beyond PD-1 and PD-L1, targeting patient subpopulations that are refractory or relapse from current therapies.”
“We have the capacity and expertise to go up to clinical proof of concept, and if we find a partner to help accelerate and expand clinical validation, I will be very interested.”
“We have raised 9 million euros, which is both a lot and very little; a lot for a project in Belgium but very little for a drug discovery project.”
“We had to convince investors who were initially very reluctant because we had limited intellectual property and mostly know-how to valorize.”
“The cost of developing a new drug is in the order of several billion dollars, considering all the failures along the way.”
“A biotechnology company is not just about making recombinant proteins; it can be a highly focused pharmaceutical microenterprise doing exactly what big pharma does.”
“We have decided to focus on one program, IDO, which is more advanced, rather than developing two projects in parallel to manage risk and cash flow.”
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