Case study : Virus disinfection on living human skin

Case study:
Disinfection testing on living human skin

Simultaneous visualization of virus disinfection efficiency and the impact on skin physiology

As an independant laboratory, we were contacted by the company Aquila Bioscience  to measure the efficiency of one of their disinfection product on living human skin. This ABD (Anti Bioagent Decontamination) Device works by physically capturing pathogens on both skin and surfaces. Pathogens bind to the solution and are stripped from skin and surfaces in a Velcro-like action. Our goal was to investigate and measure the efficacy of the product before commercial launch.

Note: our experiment on living human skin is conform to the requirements set out by the French Research Ethics Committee respecting the dignity, rights, safety and well-being of the people involved in the study.

Skin test with Abwipe

Challenging ABD wipes on SARS-CoV-2 contaminated skin

A prepartation of SARS-CoV-2 virus was deposit on the surface of living human skin explants. A small piece of a control wipe, PBS soaked wipe or ADB wipe was then apply without movement on the skin.

Determination of the skin decontamination efficiency of ABD device on SARS-CoV-2. A) SARS-CoV-2 titers in TCID50/ml for two biological replicates (R1 and R2). B) Log10 decrease of infectious SARS-CoV-2 for two biological replicates (R1 and R2).

After generation of a full report and a certificate of analysis for Aquila Bioscience customer, Abwipe was launched on the market.

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Case study : UVC disinfection

Case study:
UV-C disinfection box

Speeding up product development: fast calibration of UV-C power and exposure on autofluorescent viruses

As an independant laboratory, we were contacted by the company Clinit Technologies to measure the efficiency of one of their product, aiming at the disinfection of small objects. We used our autofluorescent ANCHOR™ Adenovirus type 5, a non-enveloped virus displaying high resistance to disinfection processes,  which allows simple and fast monitoring of viral reduction upon UV-C exposure. Results were generated in 24h. This viral model, which is quick to set up, is therefore the most relevant for defining the necessary decontamination times and power output to achieves the best infectious virus reduction.

UV-C disinfection of an ANCHOR™ hAdV5 (Green) as a function of exposure time.

Following several rounds of product optimization, validation on a collection of viruses interest

The commercial boxes developed by Clinit technologies aimed at the disinfection of at least 5 logs of SARS-CoV-2 and maximal effect on other class of viruses. To qualify the product, we used one of our SARS-CoV-2 strain in BSL3 laboratory and measure the efficiency of the final product directly before commercial release.

Clinit technologies product achieved high level of disinfection as measured directly on live infectious viruses:

           -SARS-COV-2: >99,9998% (>5log10)

           -Influenza virus H1N1: >99,998% (>4log10)

           -hAdenovirus5: >99,99% (>4log10)

We have also a unique capacity to visualize virus infection using advanced imaging techniques. For commercial and marketing applications, we also verified the efficiency of Clinit technologies product using microscopy.  On the slider below is shown SARS-CoV-2 infection before and after disinfection with Clinit product. (blue: cell nuclei, green SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA, red: SARS-Cov-2 NP).

T+_RGB UV+_RGB

After generation of a full report and a certificate of analysis for Clinit customers, Clinit Technologies e-Box UV-C irradiation system was launched on the market.

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SARS-CoV-2

SARS-CoV-2

Characteristics

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CorOnaVirus 2 is a member of the betacoronavirus family and triggers a disease called Covid19. The original strain (pre-VOC) emerged in the wuhan district in the late 2019 and rapidly spread over the world. Several variants of concern emerged, including the delta and omicron variant.

It is an enveloped virus (70-110nm) with a positive single stranded RNA genome of around 30kb.

Pathogenicity

In January 2022, more than 367 millions of people has been infected by SARS-CoV-2, triggering more than 5 million death. This virus is present worlwide.

  • Primary infection can be completely asymptomatic in healthy individuals
  • Most of people will develop low to mild-severe infection, including fever, dryed cough, fatigue, nausea and diarhea
  • Can trigger severe to fatal disease in patient, including hospitalization in ICU and artificial ventilation.
  • All antiviral in development to date failed to reach market entry, vaccine available that greatly reduce severity of symptomes
  • We use this virus for the discovery of new antiviral molecules, testing of neutralizing antibodies and measurement of disinfection procedures
  • We have also a strong library of protocol for the contamination of different surface of interest, from plastic to living human skin explants
NeoVirtech lab BSL3
All SARS-CoV-2 experiments are done in an accreditated BSL3 laboratory.
Virus screening NeoVirtech
SARS-CoV-2 destroying human pulmonary cells 48h post-infection. Nuclei in blue, SARS NP in red and SARS RNA in green

Applications

We use SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses for a broad category of testing. Contact us to know more.

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Orthopoxviruses ANCHOR™

Orthopoxviruses ANCHOR™

Characteristics

Orthopoxviruses are large enveloped virus, with a genome consisting of linear double-stranded DNA of 170 to 250 kilobases. Replication is strictly cytoplasmic

Pathogenicity

Pathogenic, can induce severe diseases in humans from variola virus (VARV virus eradicated in the 80s thanks to vaccination) to zoonotic monkeypox or cowpox virus..
  • Antivirals : Brincidofovir, Tecovirimat, Metisazone
HeLa cells infected with VacV-ANCHORTM, MOI 0.1, 48h PI, Cell Insight CX7 HCS System, ThermoFisher Scientific

Applications

Our Vaccinia virus (VacV) is combined with our ANCHORTM technology. This allows us to easily visualize viral infection and replication in high throughput imaging, making this virus an excellent tool. VacV-ANCHOR allows the discovery or repositioning of active antiviral molecules but also fundamental research on its biology. A Cowpox-ANCHOR virus is under development.

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Human Cytomegalovirus ANCHOR™

Human Cytomegalovirus ANCHOR™

Characteristics

Human Cytomegalovirus belongs to the Herpes virus family. It is a large enveloped virus (150-200nm), with a double-stranded DNA genome of around 240 kilobases.

Pathogenicity

Prevalence of 55-100% within human population depending on the geographic area and socioeconomic conditions:

  • Primary infection usually silent or benign in healthy individuals
  • Leading infectious cause of congenital abnormalities in western world (1-2,5% of birth defects)
  • Severe to fatal disease in immunocompromised individuals, organ transplant recipients or AIDS patients.
  • Main antivirals: Ganciclovir, Letermovir.  Ganciclovir and Letermovir resistant strains availables.
MRC5 cells infected with hCMV ANCHOR™ (green), MOI 0,5, 72h PI. Apotome ZEISS, 63X.
ANCHOR tagged virus (green) combined to anti-actin immunofluorescence (red), nuclei in blue

Applications

Our hCMV, hCMV Ganciclovir resistant and hCMV Letermovir resistant are combined with the ANCHOR™ technology. This allows us to easily visualize viral infection and replication in high throughput and in living cells, making this virus an excellent tool to investigate the behavior of hCMV infection in presence of a molecule of interest. This virus is used in routine for the discovery or repurposing of new antiviral molecules but also to understand the fundamental aspect of hCMV infection in living cells.

Reference:  Mariamé et al., Journal of Virology, 2018

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Measurment of disinfection processes

Disinfection procedures made easy

Disinfection testing

Measurement of disinfection potential

NeoVirtech labs

We only score infectious viruses…

Our technology allows us to quickly calibrate and validate the development of disinfection devices. We can study all types of disinfection processes on our viruses and calculate the precise abatement to determine the optimal conditions of use.

We have already participated in the development of chemical, physical or radiative disinfection processes leading to the commercialization of innovative materials and decontamination devices. Contact us for more information.

Case study: UV-C disinfection
Case study: disinfection on living human skin
Virus collection

Partnership with VirHealth for your normative tests

VirHealth SAS is a French biotechnology company focusing its activity on the measurement of virucidal/antiviral activities of products, devices, and technologies for disinfection using standardized and bespoke experimental approaches in an ISO9001 environment. The company provides services to investigate virucidal activity of disinfectant products and  equipment according to FR/EN/ASTM standards and has a strong expertise in the evaluation  of the antiviral activity of surface, materials, and textiles. Moreover, VirHealth develops bespoke decontamination procedures for analyzing of equipment and technologies (radiation, chemical, physical) according to specific customer needs

press release
Olivier Authier
The goal of CLINIT Technologies was to design and manufacture an efficient UV disinfection box but on our market, all is invisible : viruses and UV-C radiation. So how to prove the efficiency on viruses, how to show it to our customers ?We contacted NEOVIRTECH seeking for answers, with the aim to guarantee the effect of our e-Box and attest it by a report. We found more than scientists. We found involved people with high reactivity, high availability, highly skilled sharing same values as us. Their auto fluorescent technology is magic, in real time we can see virus destruction. Amazing !!! In an agile way of working, and thanks to fast results, we reached our objectives in a very short time. By adjusting our box to the good level of radiations, we guarantee high efficiency and cherry on the cake : illustrated by beautiful images of virus eradication in real time. NEOVIRTECH is more than an independent laboratory, it’s a center of excellence in their domain and a source of improvement for us
Olivier Authier
Clinit Technologies
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Dr. Philippe Erbs
Transgene SA is a biopharmaceutical company developing for more than 30 years innovative targeted-immunotherapies to answer unmet medical needs in the oncology and infectious disease fields. We were looking for a rapid and efficient solution to investigate the behavior of our products using high-resolution quantitative microscopy. NeoVirTech’s autofluorescence technology and screening platform allowed us to precisely visualize, understand and compare the behavior of our products directly using live cell microscopy techniques. The beauty and quality of the data they can generate open a new perspective for our activities, boosting up our research and validation processes. Thank you NeoVirTech for this ongoing precious collaboration.
Dr. Philippe Erbs
Oncolytic Virus Department. Transgene S.A, Illkirch Graffenstaden, France
Thursday, August 31, 2017

Human Adenovirus 5 ANCHOR™

Human Adenovirus 5 ANCHOR™

Characteristics

Human adenoviruses are medium-sized viruses (70 to 110 nm), with a genome consisting of double-stranded DNA (30,000 to 38,000 base pairs), with an icosahedral capsid and no enveloped.

Pathogenicity

Infection is usually silent during childhood. AdV infect epithelial cells.

  • 10% of respiratory infections are linked to an adenovirus
  • Adv is the causing agent of conjunctivitis, some serotype provoke severe keratoconjunctivitis (+++Japan)
  • Severe adenovirus infection in immunocompetent persons has been reported (CDC, 2000)
  • No antiviral available
sensible
hcs
no antiviral
Human Adenovirus 5 ANCHOR™ infecting cells in control conditions
Human Adenovirus 5 ANCHOR™ infecting cells on the presence of 35nM of an anti adenovirus compound

Applications

Our Adv5 is combined with our ANCHORTM technology. This allows us to easily visualize viral infection and replication in high throughput, making this virus an excellent tool.

Adv5 is a virus used in many applications, for the discovery or repositioning of active antiviral molecules but also an excellent model for measuring chemical, physical or radiative disinfection.

Remarkably, Adenoviruses are highly resistant to UVC because they can take advantage of the cell repair mechanisms of nucleic acid alterations1. This resistance, even though they are DNA viruses, reinforces the idea of using a labelled Adv5 as a model for rapid testing of many irradiation conditions.

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Imaging

State of the art imaging and HCS platform

Imaging

Track your virus or any kind of DNA in real time thanks to the ANCHOR™ technology.
Access our state of the art imaging platform.

We can offer different types of imaging and also image analysis whether in a viral or non-viral context, from high content imaging to high resolution imaging and light sheet microscopy.

We can  image many types of samples: 96-well plates, slides or spheroids and perform simultaneous quantification of different fluorescent markers of interest in an automated manner.

Our close collaboration with Imactiv-3D, a company specialized in imaging and image analysis, allows us to consider the use of complex 3D models from infected spheroids to whole insects.

GET IN TOUCH
Jean-Michel Lagarde
We are closely working with NeoVirTech as our partner on a wide range of imaging technologies. Together, we bring a comprehensive imaging platform ranging from the basic fluorescence, through the high content spinning-disk to lightsheet microscopy. That way, we can visualize 2D and 3D samples like infected spheroids. We also work together in image processing to design automatic and custom-made algorithms for quantification. NeoVirTech high-level expertise in virology combined with our know-how have led to reliable results allowing our clients to obtain unique endpoints.
Jean-Michel Lagarde
Imactiv-3D
Thursday, August 31, 2021
Marie PETIT
As Technology Transfer Accelerator Office, Sayens use to collaborate with technological companies having specific skills needed for our development programs. Thanks to its unique technology and comprehensive platform, NeoVirTech revealed been a highly competent company in antiviral drug evaluation for one of our program. I also really appreciate working with Dr. Franck Gallardo and his team, which were available at every step of the project, brought a strong expertise and a valuable follow up of the experiments.
Marie PETIT
Health and medical devices project manager at SAYENS
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Dr. Claire Bernhard
A strong partnership has been established between NeoVirtech and our lab (ICMUB, Dijon) in the frame of an innovative research program, supported by SATT SAYENS. Neovirtech’s team, headed by Dr. Franck Gallardo, was a key partner for project success, by providing a very strong expertise and high quality-service in the field of antiviral molecules development. A very appreciate added value, highlighting the benefit of public/private partnership for speeding up development program.
Dr. Claire Bernhard
CNRS Research engineer - Institute of Chemistry of the University of Burgundy
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Dr Lucile Tran
The Technology Transfer Office Aquitaine Science Transfert (AST) aims to accelerate the dissemination of innovations on the market. AST supports innovative concepts from the researcher’s invention until proof-of-concept has been established. For a project of our portfolio, we were looking for a partner to evaluate the antiviral activity of a patented compound on infection and replication of different virus families. We had efficient and productive interactions with Dr Franck Gallardo and his team throughout the project to design the study, plan the execution and discuss about the results. I would highly recommend Neovirtech for antiviral drug evaluation.
Dr Lucile Tran
Healthcare project manager – Business Developer at Aquitaine Science Transfer
2021

Drug discovery

Evaluating drug performance, finding tomorrow's blockbusters

Drug discovery

We are expert in the discovery of antiviral molecules using imaging techniques.

Since its inception in 2014, NeoVirTech has screened thousands of compounds for their potency as antiviral molecule on the human, animal and Biodefense market.

Our discovery pipeline, from rapid investigation of compound libraries to in vivo testing in infected animals, coupled to our experience in the antiviral field, is the best combination for the success of our customer.

NeoVirTech has successfully closed multiyear antiviral screening and optimization campaign for public agencies and private companies.

Our custom R&D platform specialized in the virology field propose several level of compound testing. We can support you in the development of your antiviral molecules, from compound screening to in vivo validation:

Antiviral discovery

Virus replication NeoVirtech

Our ANCHOR™ viruses are available for high-throughput imaging and screening, making it a major tool for antiviral research and development. Combined with HCS microscopy and detection algorithm, it provides the fastest and the most robust techniques to discover new antivirals.

This allows us to rapidly set up the entire pre-clinical antiviral development pipeline:

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Professor Syed Haq
It gives me great pleasure in writing a testimonial about our company's experience of Neovirtech. During the COVID Pandemic, a time of extraordinary upheaval globally, we engaged the contract research services of Neovirtech, following recommendation, to specifically examine a number of our platform recombinant products against SARS-CoV-2 and a number of the more recently described variants in their state of the art Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory. From the design, implementation, troubleshooting, quality assurance, speed of deliverables and standard of work, we have been utterly impressed by every aspect of their professionalism and communication during at least 12 months of continuous work on several of our projects. The entire team is to be commended, with particular mention of their CEO Franck Gallardo, who is outstanding. I have worked with many in the scientific field of academia and drug discovery from Imperial College, Harvard and Tufts Universities, as well as countless CROs spanning over twenty years, and as such, I can say without reservation that Neovirtech are one of the best. It is no surprise that they are regularly nominated and win innovation awards on a national stage.
Professor Syed Haq
MBBS BSc PhD MRCP(UK) CEO/CMO and Founder of BioImmunitas Ltd UK
Dr Daniel Gillet
We are developing inhibitors of intracellular trafficking pathways that block virus entry into cells. NeoVirTech’s technology allows for precise ranking of sets of analogues according to their antiviral potencies and selectivity indexes. Working with NeoVirTech was a great experience. Preparatory discussions were rich and efficient, adaptation of protocols to our needs was very successful, antiviral screening of our molecules was done rapidly, and activity reports were clear and informative. The team was always available to answer our questions. We warmly recommend NeoVirTech for the screening and potency assessment of antiviral molecules on designated viruses.
Dr Daniel Gillet
Frédéric Joliot Institute for Life Sciences, CEA Paris Saclay
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Enrique Tabares, CEO of MicroA A.S., Norway
Neovirtech have carried out several anti-viral studies for MicroA, on a range of targets. Both before and after the studies, we were impressed with their quick responses to our queries, very thorough technical approach and their support in data interpretation. Many thanks to the Neovirtech team for their hard work!
Enrique Tabares
CEO of MicroA A.S., Norway
Thursday, August 31, 2017

Oncology

Virus as a cancer therapy

Oncology

Oncolytics vectors

Conventional cancer treatments have limited effectiveness in many cases. Oncolytic therapy, based on the use of armed viruses directed against tumor cells, offers new perspectives in the fight against this global scourge.

In this context, our ANCHOR™ system allows the visualization of the early stages of infection down to the single cell level and the rapid quantification of viral replication. This real-time monitoring will accelerate the understanding and development of this new anti-cancer therapy and identify activator or inhibitor of your oncolytic product.

Construction of autofluorescent oncolytic vectors

Our experience in virus modification and the speed of implementation of our system can be a real asset to your product development. The real-time visualization of the virus particles allows a rapid response to many of the problems encountered in the development of oncolytic viruses. The ANCHOR technology allows the assessment of oncolytic potential without fixation, extraction or staining.

Cell line efficiency and in vivo testing

One of the main limitations of oncolytic therapies remains the permeability of cells to viruses. Many factors influence permissiveness, such as the cell type or the target organ. Also, information about the infection capacities and replication level depending on cell types can be difficult to assess. We can test a specific oncolytic product on different cell lines and test for their infection and replication capacity according to cell origin, multiplicity of infection or presence of a compound of interest. We can also propose to test the activity of oncolytic viruses on specific mouse models.

Drug discovery, oncolytic modulators

Using autofluorescent oncolytic viruses, we can measure the impact of the presence of a molecule of interest on virus infection and replication capacities. Molecules can be from different origin such as small molecules, antibodies, siRNA. This offer will help you discover the mechanistic and biological pathways behind oncolytic activities. The oncolytic activity can be modulated by activating the oncolytic potential on specific cell lines or inhibiting targeted replication.

Interaction with pre-existing treatments

The use of anti-cancer therapies is often performed in combinations for a better anti-tumor effect. We can study for you the impact of classical anti-cancer drugs combined with your oncolytic virus. The objective is to increase efficacy by detecting synergistic combination and avoid antagonism by preventing association of molecules that will impair viral infection or replication.

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Pr. Pierre Cordelier
We are fortunate to collaborate with NeoVirtech on several projects. They provide unique strategies to better address complex biological questions in live cells in real-time. With their help, we were able to visualize for the first time the behavior of oncolytic virus in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer, a disease with no cure. We obtained crystal clear experimental data that could definitely accelerate the transfer of therapeutic innovation to patient with this disease. I highly recommend Franck and team, as seeing is believing !
Pr. Pierre Cordelier
CRCT Inserm
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Dr. Philippe Erbs
Transgene SA is a biopharmaceutical company developing for more than 30 years innovative targeted-immunotherapies to answer unmet medical needs in the oncology and infectious disease fields. We were looking for a rapid and efficient solution to investigate the behavior of our products using high-resolution quantitative microscopy. NeoVirTech’s autofluorescence technology and screening platform allowed us to precisely visualize, understand and compare the behavior of our products directly using live cell microscopy techniques. The beauty and quality of the data they can generate open a new perspective for our activities, boosting up our research and validation processes. Thank you NeoVirTech for this ongoing precious collaboration.
Dr. Philippe Erbs
Oncolytic Virus Department. Transgene S.A, Illkirch Graffenstaden, France
Thursday, August 31, 2017