Every patient is unique, and so is every cancer.
The identification of genetic abnormalities within cancer cells is an extremely valuable piece of information that can be used to guide the diagnosis, classification, identification and monitoring of the treatment for a growing number of cancers. Identifying the genetic signatures of interest is made possible by genome sequencing. But this assessment requires the interpretation of increasingly complex data and, as a result, highly specialized expertise. This is an obstacle faced by medical laboratories in obtaining the right diagnostic information to deliver to oncologists. MSInsight was created from this observation.
Among the biomarkers sought by genome sequencing, MSInsight is particularly interested in identifying a frequent tumor genetic anomaly: Microsatellite Instability (MSI). Microsatellites are small and repeated DNA sequences scattered throughout the genome, which are very easily mutated during cell division. In 4% of cancer cases, this system for repairing mutated DNA fails. This is known as a MSI tumor.
The MSI phenotype is associated with around thirty types of cancer. Diagnosis of MSI cancers will concern 1.1 million new cases per year by 2030 and will make it possible to improve the management and survival of these patients, by directing them towards immunotherapies. To achieve this objective, MSInsight is offering biologists a range of services (diagnosis and response to treatment) to simplify their practice, reduce their analysis costs and provide oncologists with optimum decision-making support for the benefit of their patients.
Benkei was commissioned by SATT Pulsalys to help Arnaud Cutivet (CEO) and Olivier Exertier (CFO) to put together the i-Lab application. Benkei performed an overall diagnosis and provided recommendations concerning:
- MSInsight’s eligibility for the funding scheme,
- The relevance of the project in terms of the i-Lab competition assessment criteria,
- Identification of missing or insufficiently detailed elements.
Once the application had matured, a second phase of work resulted in a more detailed analysis, which led to proposals for:
- Improvements to the way in which each part of the application was presented (and in particular the presentation of the project, the market, the innovation program, the impact and the financial requirements),
- Overall improvements to the document provided (content and form).
Finally, Benkei assisted Arnaud Cutivet and Olivier Exertier with the submission of the application on the Bpifrance platform.
” Benkei’s support proved particularly valuable in putting together a relevant application that met the expectations of the i-Lab funding call. Benkei’s consultants gave us the benefit of their extensive experience, professionalism, and responsiveness, to produce a winning application. ”
Arnaud CUTIVET – CEO