Lars Rogge awarded « Sanofi iAwards Europe » 2019

After the success of the first "Sanofi iAwards Europe" call for proposals, the Sanofi group launched the second edition in November 2018. The aim of the iAwards is to provide 12 months of funding to develop innovative and translational research proposal that could lead to the development of effective an safer therapeutic solutions for patients. After the 12-month period, the possibility of an R&D partnership with Sanofi scientists may be discussed. The iAwards are geared towards the development of new treatments, and projects on preventive vaccines are not eligible.

Some 240 preliminary proposals from 18 academic research organizations in France, Germany, Israel and the United Kingdom were submitted in early 2019, including 12 proposals from the Institut Pasteur.

In line with the timetable for this new 2019 call for proposals, a first selection round was held (February 14, 2019), during which a total of 63 preliminary proposals (six for the Institut Pasteur) were selected. Two of the Institut Pasteur project leaders subsequently withdrew before submitting their detailed proposal. Finally, after the second selection round (May 23, 2019), just 13 proposals were approved by the Joint Scientific Steering Committee for the 2019 Sanofi iAwards Europe.

The proposal submitted by Lars Rogge, Head of the Immunoregulation Unit, on the elucidation of the mechanism of action of biological therapies for ankylosing spondylitis, was one of those selected.