This is our portfolio of collaborative research and innovation projects focused on respiratory viral infections, spanning fundamental research, preclinical development, clinical studies, and technological platform integration. Through national and international partnerships involving academic institutions, hospitals, and industry stakeholders, these initiatives aim to accelerate the development of antiviral strategies, improve understanding of disease mechanisms, and strengthen preparedness for emerging and re-emerging pandemics.
ANTIVIRESPIR is one of the 9 excellence projects selected by an international expert panel as part of the 2024 PEPR MIE Call for Projects, approved for funding by the General Secretariat for Investment, following a decision by the Prime Minister.
The ANTIVIRESPIR project aims to significantly scale up the national infrastructure Virocrib (CNRS Biology) by partnering with the GAVO consortium (Generation of Original Antivirals, CNRS Chemistry) and the ChemBioFrance research infrastructure.
The objective is to synthesize, screen, identify, and characterize innovative antiviral compounds targeting emerging and re-emerging respiratory viruses, with the goal of enabling rapid deployment in the event of a future pandemic.
Within Virocrib, RESPIVIR and the technological research platform Virnext will contribute to this project by providing its viral library, expertise in combinatorial screening tools, and its continuum of predictive in vitro and in vivo preclinical models of infections caused by respiratory viruses such as influenza, pneumoviruses, coronaviruses, and SARS-CoV-2.
For more information:
https://anrs.fr/fr/actualites/actualites/laureats-2024-pepr-mie/
The CNRS Institute of Biological Sciences has created ViroCrib, a shared infrastructure for screening antiviral molecules in several relevant and complementary preclinical models (in vitro, ex-vivo, in vivo) in order to urgently respond to the emergence of future pathogenic viruses that could lead to global health crises. Priority will be given to studying respiratory viruses that pose a recurring global threat, such as SARS-CoV-2, coronaviruses, influenza viruses (H1N1 in particular) and pneumoviruses.
Supported by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, ViroCrib brings together a consortium of virologists, research teams and molecular screening technology platforms. Our VirPath team is one of the founding teams of this consortium with the Molecular and Cellular Virology team of the Lille Center for Infection & Immunity (CNRS UMR-9017 – Inserm U1019), the Center for the Study of Infectious Diseases & Anti-PharmacologyInfectious of Montpellier (CNRS UAR3725) and the Institute of Regenerative Medicine and Biotherapy of Montpellier.
The expertise and complementarity of its teams and platforms will accelerate the screening and preclinical evaluation of antiviral drugs to better cope with future epidemics and pandemics. ViroCrib will prioritize the study of respiratory viruses that pose a recurring global threat and aims to expand its expertise and models by integrating other research teams and technology platforms. Virocrib can be mobilized very quickly at any time to respond, even in an emergency, to the arrival of a new virus. This will be made possible thanks to all the tools that have been put in place, which will be very easy to use even in times of crisis.
https://www.virpath.com/collaborative-projects-consortiums-and-partnership/virocrib-1/
The SHIELD project aims to revolutionize the control of airborne infectious risk in hospitals by developing innovative, deployable, and more sustainable controlled environment solutions. It is part of a broader effort to support healthcare infrastructure by:
- improving responsiveness in the event of emerging epidemic or pandemic viruses
- enabling greater flexibility in deploying innovative therapies
- enhancing protection for both patients and healthcare professionals
Labeled by Lyonbiopôle and Axelera, the SHIELD project is led by ASPIDA, a deeptech company specialized in ultra-critical containment, in partnership with our spin-off Virexpr, which develops tailor-made solutions for controlling airborne contamination in confined environments.
We would like to thank the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes for this R&D Booster call for projects, which promotes public–private partnerships and strengthens the ability of academic and industrial stakeholders in our regional ecosystem to collaborate and deliver innovative, strategically important public health projects.
More information:
www.aspida.fr
www.virexpr.fr
www.respivir.io
The VIRHAE project aims to develop new physiopathological in vitro models to better understand the mechanisms underlying viral exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These advanced models will form a platform dedicated to the accelerated preclinical evaluation of new preventive and therapeutic treatments.
Aligned with European requirements to reduce animal use, VIRHAE will contribute to improving patient care and quality of life.
Labeled by Lyonbiopôle, the project is led by Epithelix, a global leader in respiratory tissue models, in partnership with Rheonova, a specialist in rheology for industry.
We would like to thank the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes for this R&D Booster call for projects, which promotes public–private partnerships and strengthens the ability of academic and industrial stakeholders in our regional ecosystem to collaborate and deliver innovative, strategically important public health projects.
More information:
https://www.chu-lyon.fr/service-de-pneumologie-hopital-de-la-croix-rousse#toc–centre-int-gr-d-expertise-et-de-recherche-sur-l-asthme–ciera–
The Pipeline-RSV-France trial aims to demonstrate the superiority of maternal immunization with the bivalent vaccine ABRYSVO® (Pfizer) administered during the last trimester of pregnancy, in combination with Nirsevimab administered to infants at 4 months of age, in terms of protection against RSV infections.
The project is part of the PIPELINE platform, a European initiative led by the Penta consortium, designed to strengthen pandemic preparedness by developing preventive and therapeutic solutions for respiratory infections affecting mothers and their children.
In synergy with the GIMAP team led by Prof. Stéphane Paul at the CHU de Saint-Étienne, RESPIVIR and the Virnext platform are proud to contribute to this innovative clinical trial by providing our expertise and protocols in virological and immunological analyses dedicated to emerging and re-emerging respiratory viral infections.
The Pipeline-RSV-France project, led by Pierre Frange (Université Paris Cité) and Tristan Delory (CHANGE), and funded under the ANRS ReCH-MIE 2023 national call for projects (hospital-based clinical research dedicated to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases), also involves the teams of Prof. Pascal Crépey (EHESP), Dr. Billy Amzal (Quinten Health), and Dr. Alpha Diallo (ANRS-MIE).
The trial will involve multiple hospital centers across the country, with site mobilization notably supported by the I-Reivac clinical research network.
The STANDBYME project, led by Andrés Pizzorno, has been selected for the 2025 ANR Jeunes chercheuses – Jeunes chercheurs (JCJC) grant.
STANDBYME aims to characterize the functional interactions between virus-infected cells and their surrounding “bystander” cells, which shape the pathophysiology and antiviral responses of the human upper respiratory tract.
The project combines innovative reporter viruses, a broad panel of physiological infection models for influenza viruses, and multi-omics analytical approaches.
It will leverage Virnext’s technological research platform, virology resources, and continuum of preclinical in vitro and in vivo models, in collaboration with the teams of Guillaume Carissimo (A*STAR, ID-labs), Laurent Renia (Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine), and Stéphane Paul (GIMAP, CIRI, Inserm).
STANDBYME is part of our ongoing research programs to develop new therapeutic strategies against influenza viruses, aiming to better protect populations from seasonal and pandemic threats.
IMMUNOVIR aims to structure and develop our R&D partnership with the internationally renowned research center A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs – A*STAR IDL. This program is structured around three complementary areas of research in the field of respiratory viral infections:
- the study of immune responses to infections,
- the development of innovative diagnostic technologies,
- new anti-infective immunotherapy strategies.
Already supported by the PHCMERLION program between Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs – A*STAR IDL, the #IMMUNOVIR program will contribute to synergize our expertise in virology and immunology with the aim of strengthening pandemic preparedness.
The “International Ambition” is a funding scheme that aims to support international collaboration in research, innovation and training in areas of excellence identified by the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Many thanks to Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the #DESRI teams for their support and confidence in our international collaborative research projects.
RESPIVIR France – Canada
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
Université Laval
Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec
Inserm CNRS CIRI
GESPPAIR is a collaborative public–private research and development program led by Virexpr, dedicated to improving the management and prevention of microbiological and viral contamination risks in confined environments. The program focuses on enhancing indoor air quality and strengthening protection against airborne infectious pathogens in high-risk settings such as healthcare facilities, public spaces, and industrial environments.
The program brings together a multidisciplinary consortium of industrial partners and academic research teams, including the VirPath laboratory and its VirNext technological research platform. VirNext provides advanced capabilities in respiratory virology, including viral production systems, experimental models, and preclinical evaluation tools, enabling the development and validation of innovative solutions for air treatment, monitoring, and contamination control.
Labelled by the excellence clusters AXELERA and Lyonbiopôle Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, supported by Lyon Ingénierie Projets (a subsidiary of Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University), and managed regionally by Bpifrance, the GESPPAIR program has a total budget of €3.5 million. It has received €2.24 million in public funding from the French government, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, and Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, highlighting strong institutional commitment to advancing innovation in environmental health and airborne infection control.
Epithelix is a biotech company founded in March 2006 and located in Geneva, Switzerland which provides alternative in vitro solutions to animal experimentation to evaluate the effects of drugs in development and to assess the toxicity of chemical compounds on the human airway.
The company is the European leading provider of in vitro reconstituted human respiratory tissues. They develop a unique technology allowing reconstituted tissues to be maintained at a homeostatic state for a long-time period.
Virnext partners with Epithelix to provide in vitro SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses models of infection based on reconstituted human respiratory tissues at the air liquid interface (ALI) in Virnext’s BSL-3 and BSL-2 facilities, respectively.
Link to the insight from Dr Samuel CONSTANT, co-founder and CEO of Epithelix: https://documentcloud.wondershare.com/clientShare/review/bpcFVoayn8Msp0rtjRcN4bUvPHiRbgPtuCHThfbeih4fM46XO13Fy4nJARhEGJnTS0PjVEOkBkU4DQP6uC6kgA
Members of the Université Laval and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 communities, as well as partners from the research community, gathered to highlight the creation of the International Research Laboratory (France-Canada), which is working on origin, the treatment and prevention of respiratory viral infections (LIR RespiVIR).
Under the co-direction of Guy Boivin, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Laval University, and Manuel Rosa-Calatrava, Director of Research at the Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale at Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, LIR RespiVIR aims to be a global reference in research on emerging and re-emerging respiratory virus infections.
A unique vehicle, an International Research Laboratory (LIR) is a structuring entity «without walls» where a teaching and research team from two international universities work together in complementarity around a jointly defined scientific programme. The teams of Guy Boivin and Manuel Rosa-Calatrava have been working together since 2010. Their work has already led to numerous scientific publications, the filing of several patents of invention and the creation of two start-ups (Signia Therapeutics and Vaxxel) employing today 10 people, mainly graduates of Université Laval and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1.
Their team’s common theme is the study of respiratory viruses and the development of new strategies to combat pathogens such as influenza viruses, pneumoviruses or SARS-CoV-2. In this dynamic, the LIR RespiVIR will focus in particular on continuing and developing the training of students through research in order to transmit and sustain scientific knowledge, In this way more research staff will be trained. This LIR also provides for the co-supervision of doctoral students and facilitates exchanges between the student and research communities of Université Laval and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1.
VirexpR, an innovative service company and independent consulting laboratory, was founded on more than 10 years of experience and activity in virology applied to the management of air, water, and surface contamination, and was developed within the laboratory VirPath academic research laboratory and the VirNext technological platform. In order to meet the major health, economic and societal challenges of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and contamination management in clean rooms and controlled environments, VirexpR is committed to ambitious development of experimental protocols and next-generation test benches in order to provide innovative technology offers, as well as a wide range of R&D services in the fields of virology and microbiology for IAQ. VirexpR aims to validate and propose new standards that will ultimately allow the recommendation of deployment and operation modes in situ of air treatment, respiratory protection and biocollector devices.
VirPath – Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI U1111 INSERM – UMR 5308 CNRS – ENS Lyon – UCBL1) is an academic laboratory located in Lyon and specialized in virology and human respiratory pathologies. VirPath is associated with the World Health Organization and hosts the National Reference Center for Respiratory Viruses (South of France). VirPath works on different aspects of respiratory virus biology, from the deciphering of the mechanisms leading to virus emergence and pathogenesis, to the analysis of viral interplays with cells and key host factors of the host epithelium mucosal responses, by using physiological and predictive preclinical models based on reconstructed human respiratory epithelium and in vivo models of infection. In a more translational point of view, VirPath is interested in the mechanisms of antiviral resistance, as well as the discovery of innovative antiviral strategies targeting the host (drug repurposing) and optimization of vaccine quality and potency as new means to control influenza and pneumovirus infections. VirPath thas been very reactively engaged in the fight against SARS-CoV-2, made possible by their integrated research model, their dedicated team investment over the past 10 years, and the confidence and support of their affiliated trustees (INSERM via REACTing, CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and its subsidiaries EZUS and Lyon Ingénierie Projets) and national and internationalpartners (ANR, Institut Mérieux, Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Instituts de Recherche en Santé du Canada and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).
GIMAP (Groupe d’Immunologie des Muqueuses et Agents Pathogènes) is a multidisciplinary research unit of Jean Monnet University (Saint-Étienne) that is a part of CIRI, bringing together immunologists, microbiologists, infectiologists and clinicians. Created in 1991, GIMAP is a major academic actor at the interface of mucosal immunology, inflammation and infection, with strong expertise in host–pathogen interactions at mucosal surfaces.
Led by Prof. Stéphane Paul, member of the Institut Universitaire de France, the group focuses on deciphering the complex interplay between pathogens, microbiota and secretory immunoglobulins (IgA and IgM) in the gut and nasal mucosa. GIMAP develops innovative in vitro, ex vivo and preclinical models to study chronic viral infections (including HIV and CMV), inflammatory diseases and mucosal immune regulation, as well as to explore novel mucosal vaccine and immunotherapy strategies.
Located at the Faculty of Medicine on the “Santé Innovation” campus of the University Hospital of Saint-Étienne, GIMAP benefits from strong clinical integration, advanced investigation facilities and animal experimentation platforms, supporting translational research from fundamental immunology to therapeutic applications.
Vaxxel is a French biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines against major respiratory viral infections, including human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV). Founded in 2019 in Lyon, the company is a spin-off from the VirPath laboratory and originates from the broader innovation ecosystem built around the VirNext technology research platform, which specializes in translational virology and preclinical evaluation.
Leveraging its proprietary Metavac® platform, Vaxxel designs live-attenuated intranasal vaccines that aim to mimic natural infection while safely inducing both mucosal and systemic immune responses. These vaccine candidates target diseases with significant unmet medical needs, such as bronchiolitis in infants and severe respiratory infections in the elderly.
The company benefits from strong scientific foundations and technological capabilities derived from VirNext, including advanced viral production systems, preclinical models, and expertise in respiratory virology. This integrated approach accelerates the translation of academic research into clinical development, positioning Vaxxel as an emerging player in the field of innovative respiratory vaccines.
AIS Biotech is a French biotechnology company developing a new generation of anti-infective therapeutics based on innovative sugar-derived biopolymers. Founded in 2023, the company originates from a multidisciplinary collaboration between the CERMAV (CNRS) and the VirPath laboratory, leveraging the advanced virology expertise and preclinical capabilities of the VirNext technology research platform.
Building on this strong scientific foundation, AIS Biotech develops “anti-infective decoy” molecules that mimic host cell surface glycans to trap and neutralize pathogens, preventing their interaction with human cells. Its lead candidate, GlycoFlu, is a first-in-class glycopolymer designed to prevent and treat influenza infections, addressing significant unmet medical needs in the context of viral resistance and limited vaccine efficacy.
Through the integration of glycoscience and respiratory virology, and supported by the translational research ecosystem of VirNext, AIS Biotech benefits from state-of-the-art bioengineering, viral models, and preclinical evaluation platforms. This approach accelerates the development of novel prophylactic and therapeutic solutions targeting (re)emerging infectious diseases, positioning AIS Biotech as an innovative player in the anti-infective biotech landscape.
For more information regarding collaborations and partnership opportunities with VirNext