History

Founded in January 2011, CALIXAR is currently comprised of a highly skilled team of 19 members (including 10 PhDs). CALIXAR’s team is led by corporate values: commitment, perseverance and humanism to reach high performances in membrane protein innovation.

2023

CALIXAR joined Eurofins Discovery, the leading provider of products and services for the drug discovery industry, to combine their capabilities and accelerate the drug discovery research and development. The challenging membrane proteins and native antigens in development at CALIXAR will extend the Eurofins DiscoverX products portfolio to meet growing therapeutic needs.
CALIXAR announces the 12th consecutive year of growth, with nearly 40% in 2022. This is the 5th consecutive year of profit.

2022

CALIXAR extended its products and services distribution by several signed distribution agreements around the world: Pidu Biotech, Biohub International Trade, BioBench Solutions, Annoron Biotechnology, Axxora Biotechnology.
As part of its pipeline development, CALIXAR welcomed three new R&D researchers to produce and characterize membrane protein targets and native antigens of high relevance for pharmaceutical companies: Léa Conchou, Amélia Chorfa et Rim Baccouch.
After several digital partnering event due to the COVID pandemic, CALIXAR traveled in different countries during this year to meet scientific and key contacts in pharmaceutical discovery: World Vaccine Congress (Washington – April 2022), European SMALP (Birmingham – April 2022), AMR Conference (Basel – April 2022), Discovery On Target (Boston – October 2022) and PEGS (Barcelona - November 2022).

2021

CALIXAR extended its products and services distribution by several signed distribution agreements around the world: AFSBio, Amerigo, BioD, CliniSciences, and Holzel.
CALIXAR and AIT collaborated on a biosensing platform based on highly pure viral antigens as receptors and using patient serum as analyte, to improve the diagnosis of emerging and infectious diseases.
Calixar invested €1 million in pipeline of highly druggable membrane protein targets and native antigens of high relevance for pharmaceutical companies. This is the opportunity to become the exclusive provider and licensor for pharmaceutical companies, with the best native and functional membrane therapeutic targets (GPCRs, ion channels, transporters, receptors and viral targets).
New application note by CALIXAR in collaboration with NanoImaging Services on the fully native membrane protein AcrB structure determination by cryoEM. CALIXAR acquires the first Monolith X of Nanotemper in France for membrane protein characterization.
Tripartite collaboration with BIOTEM and the CNRS/Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1: the partners will design and set up a native membrane antigens platform named IMABGEN for the discovery and the development of conformational monoclonal antibodies especially for immunotherapies.
CALIXAR launched a Solubilization & Stabilization screening kit for membrane proteins.

2020

CALIXAR has been granted by French Research Ministry with Research Tax Credit accreditation for 3 years.
CALIXAR has participated to FRISBI Industrial Day and to the associated Users Meeting.
CALIXAR enters into Cryo-EM collaboration with CBI/IGBMC to unlock structure-based drug design for challenging membrane protein targets.
CALIXAR launches new funding round to establish business strategy.
CALIXAR enters into collaboration with Kobe University to explore stabilized native membrane protein dynamics in reconstituted membranes using fluorescence.
CALIXAR contributes to stop outbreak of Coronavirus and participates at Virtual Partnering against Covid-19.
CALIXAR takes part in digital RESI 2020 and presents its new funding round that will allow it to expand its licensing business model and develop a pipeline of targets of pharmaceutical interest.
CALIXAR has exchanged with many pharmaceutical industries during the Bio online events.

2019

CALIXAR and VirPath patent granted in the United States: innovative splitting approach for the formulation of novel vaccines.
Official grant for CALIXAR’s patent by the European Patent Office for the synthesis of novel family of compounds for stabilizing native functional membrane proteins.
CALIXAR publishes a new article with Roche Pharmaceuticals and The University of Basel (Biozentrum) in Scientific Reports on the extraction and purification of native CD20.
New article by CALIXAR in collaboration wit the VirPath laboratory (Lyon) and International infectious diseases Research Center, Quebec (Laval University) which describes an improved process to formulate the influenza vaccine.

2018

CALIXAR named best inventor 2018 of the French Auvergne-Rhône Region among French-Tech start-up companies.
Podium presentation held at the 5th NoValiX Conference in Boston to highlight new published work on adenosine receptor (A2A).
Peer-reviewed article accepted on a new class of innovative detergents designed to tackle the problem of membrane protein instability in collaboration with P. FALSON and A. BOUMENDJEL’s laboratory (Angewandte Chemie).
Peer-reviewed article accepted on native GPCR biochemistry and stabilization in collaboration with the Institute of Analytical Sciences and Cochin Institute (Scientific Reports).
New review published on the solubilization and stabilization of wild-type and full-length membrane proteins (Methods).
First CHEM2STAB review accepted on the development of a novel innovative detergent family for membrane-protein extraction (Methods).

2017

Three podium presentations held at World Vaccine Congress to highlight the potential of CALIXAR expertise in vaccine antigen preparation.
Three peer-reviewed articles accepted on membrane protein biochemistry and structural biology in collaboration with ASTRAZENECA, INMED, IGBMC and IBCP.
Launching of CALIXAR catalogue of products and first contracts concluded with SAPPHIRE NORTH AMERICA and G-BIOSCIENCES for the distribution of membrane proteins and reagents.
New CALIXAR™ C2B Additive Kit for crystallization launched and distributed by MOLECULAR DIMENSIONS.
New patent published on antigen identification for Leptospirosis virulence (issued from the COVALEPT consortium with Merial, Genostar, Vetagro-Sup and Institut Pasteur).
New patent published on new calixarene glycoside detergent and its use for extraction and stabilization of native functional membrane proteins.
CALIXAR as invited speaker at Brussels University (VIB) membrane protein workshop.

2016

Extension of strategic compound portfolio for the isolation of complex pharmaceutical targets (new patent).

French Inter-Ministry Fund award granted to 3-year program (Chikvax) for developing new vaccine against Chikungunya.
New review on “Overcoming bottlenecks in the membrane protein structural biology pipeline” (with Aston University).
Official launch of the common laboratory CHEM2STAB with the University of Avignon.
New article published on novel Solubilization and Separation method (Analytical Biochemistry).
New article published on native and functional ion channel isolation (Protein expression and purification).

2015

New US Business Office opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Patent on native isolation platform for complex therapeutic targets and antigens extended in Japan.
Bio’Innov Competitiveness’ Award at the Entrepreneurship Spring Event.
€1 Million ($1,13 Million) second round funding with historical investors to license-out isolation technologies for complex therapeutic targets and viral antigens.

2014

Participation in the COST ion channel network project on the immune response.
New patent on innovative manufacturing process for high performance influenza vaccines.
Collaboration with Aston University on Multidrug Resistance Targets.
New patent on strategic compounds for complex pharmaceutical target isolation.

2013

Strategic marketing agreement with ABL Inc.
Innovation Prize from Rhône County.
New Calixarene additive kit for crystallization.
CALIXAR open first office in USA.

2012

€0,87 Million ($1.2 Million) first round funding with regional angels funds (Health Angels Rhone-Alpes, Veymont Finance, Grenoble Angels, Savoie Angels) and one VCs (Siparex).
Involvement in COVALEPT project with SANOFI group, as leader in the discovery and isolation of new targets for leptospirosis vaccine development.