Laurent Levy

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Laurent Levy
Laurent Levy.jpg
Born1971
Education Pierre and Marie Curie University, now Paris-Sorbonne University (BS, MS)
SUNY Buffalo (PhD)
Occupation CEO of Nanobiotix

Laurent Levy (born 1971) is a French physical chemist, inventor, and pioneer of nanotechnology and nanomedicine. He is the co-founder of the global biotechnology company Nanobiotix, and has served as chief executive officer (CEO) since its inception in March 2003. [1] [2] [3] [4] He also authored more than 35 international scientific publications and has applied for several patents. [5]

Contents

Early life and education

Laurent Levy was born on the outskirts of northern-east Paris, France, in Montreuil.

After high school, Laurent went on to study biology at Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris VI). He changed his area of study to biophysics then to physics and chemistry after two years, graduating with his bachelor's degree in 1994. He then earned his master's degree (DEA) in physics of condensed matter from UPVI-ESPCI. [6]

Laurent attended Paris VI and the CEA for doctoral studies in physical chemistry, specializing in nanomaterials. His doctoral thesis centered on quantum confinement as it relates to magnetic semiconductors. [7]

Following the receipt of his doctorate, Levy completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Prof. Paras N. Prasad at the Institute for Lasers, Photonics, and Biophotonics at SUNY Buffalo in the United States. [8] [9] [10]

Work

In 2003, Levy founded Nanobiotix to create a medical treatment using the techniques he developed at SUNY Buffalo. Nanobiotix would build on his work to develop what is now known as NBTXR3, a first-in-class “radioenhancer” designed to significantly increase the efficacy of radiation therapy without increasing negative side effects associated with radiation. In 2011, Nanobiotix treated its first patient using NBTXR3. In 2018 the results of a phase III clinical trial established that this new type of product could work in humans. In 2019 the company received approval to sell NBTXR3 in Europe under the brand name Hensify® for the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities and trunk wall. [11] [12] [13] [14] In 2015 Levy joined the board of biotech startup Valbiotis, the first company to register a nutraceutical based on clinical findings. The company develops nutraceutical products for the prevention of diabetes in pre-diabetics. Levy helped take Valbiotis public in 2018. [15] [16]

In 2019, Levy co-founded the biotechnology company Curadigm as a spin-off from Nanobiotix. Curadigm's lead technology is a nanoprimer that affects liver function, reducing its ability to filter out drugs, making drug delivery more efficacious. [17] [18] [19]

European nanomedicine advocacy

As Nanobiotix grew, Levy became increasingly frustrated at the struggles nanomedicine companies faced in gaining visibility and support in the European Union. To advocate for nanomedical development, Levy joined the European Technology Platform Nanomedicine (ETPN) in 2012 and was elected Vice President. [20] [21] [22] Levy is a founding member of the ETPN Translation Advisory Board, which has supported 109 European biotech entrepreneurs in launching their companies. Levy also helped to establish the ETPN's Nanomedicine Translation Hub, which advises SMEs, Startups, Academics and Inventors on how to bring their nanomedicine projects to the market. [23] [24]

Awards and recognition

Patents

Publications

Related Research Articles

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A radiation oncologist is a specialist physician who uses ionizing radiation in the treatment of cancer. Radiation oncology is one of the three primary specialties, the other two being surgical and medical oncology, involved in the treatment of cancer. Radiation can be given as a curative modality, either alone or in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy. It may also be used palliatively, to relieve symptoms in patients with incurable cancers. A radiation oncologist may also use radiation to treat some benign diseases, including benign tumors. In some countries, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are controlled by a single oncologist who is a "clinical oncologist". Radiation oncologists work closely with other physicians such as surgical oncologists, interventional radiologists, internal medicine subspecialists, and medical oncologists, as well as medical physicists and technicians as part of the multi-disciplinary cancer team. Radiation oncologists undergo four years of oncology-specific training whereas oncologists who deliver chemotherapy have two years of additional training in cancer care during fellowship after internal medicine residency in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarcoma</span> Medical condition

A sarcoma is a malignant tumor, a type of cancer that arises from transformed cells of mesenchymal origin. Connective tissue is a broad term that includes bone, cartilage, fat, vascular, or hematopoietic tissues, and sarcomas can arise in any of these types of tissues. As a result, there are many subtypes of sarcoma, which are classified based on the specific tissue and type of cell from which the tumor originates. Sarcomas are primary connective tissue tumors, meaning that they arise in connective tissues. This is in contrast to secondary connective tissue tumors, which occur when a cancer from elsewhere in the body spreads to the connective tissue. The word sarcoma is derived from the Greek σάρκωμα sarkōma "fleshy excrescence or substance", itself from σάρξsarx meaning "flesh".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proton therapy</span> Medical Procedure

In medicine, proton therapy, or proton radiotherapy, is a type of particle therapy that uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often to treat cancer. The chief advantage of proton therapy over other types of external beam radiotherapy is that the dose of protons is deposited over a narrow range of depth; hence in minimal entry, exit, or scattered radiation dose to healthy nearby tissues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans</span> Medical condition

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare locally aggressive malignant cutaneous soft-tissue sarcoma. DFSP develops in the connective tissue cells in the middle layer of the skin (dermis). Estimates of the overall occurrence of DFSP in the United States are 0.8 to 4.5 cases per million persons per year. In the United States, DFSP accounts for between 1 and 6 percent of all soft tissue sarcomas and 18 percent of all cutaneous soft tissue sarcomas. In the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) tumor registry from 1992 through 2004, DFSP was second only to Kaposi sarcoma.

Elekta is a global Swedish company that develops and produces radiation therapy and radiosurgery-related equipment and clinical management for the treatment of cancer and brain disorders. Elekta has a global presence in more than 120 countries, with over 40 offices around the world and about 4,700 employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ewing sarcoma</span> Type of cancer

Ewing sarcoma is a type of cancer that forms in bone or soft tissue. Symptoms may include swelling and pain at the site of the tumor, fever, and a bone fracture. The most common areas where it begins are the legs, pelvis, and chest wall. In about 25% of cases, the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body at the time of diagnosis. Complications may include a pleural effusion or paraplegia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomotherapy</span> Type of radiation therapy

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Magnetofection is a transfection method that uses magnetic fields to concentrate particles containing vectors to target cells in the body. Magnetofection has been adapted to a variety of vectors, including nucleic acids, non-viral transfection systems, and viruses. This method offers advantages such as high transfection efficiency and biocompatibility which are balanced with limitations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radiosensitizer</span>

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Gold-198 (198Au) is a radioactive isotope of gold. It undergoes beta decay to stable 198Hg with a half-life of 2.69464 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron oxide nanoparticle</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanobiotix</span>

Nanobiotix is a biotechnology company that uses nanomedicine to develop new radiotherapy techniques for cancer patients. The company is headquartered in Paris, with additional corporate offices in New York and Massachusetts.

The applications of nanotechnology, commonly incorporate industrial, medicinal, and energy uses. These include more durable construction materials, therapeutic drug delivery, and higher density hydrogen fuel cells that are environmentally friendly. Being that nanoparticles and nanodevices are highly versatile through modification of their physiochemical properties, they have found uses in nanoscale electronics, cancer treatments, vaccines, hydrogen fuel cells, and nanographene batteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheon Jinwoo</span>

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Combinatorial ablation and immunotherapy is an oncological treatment that combines various tumor-ablation techniques with immunotherapy treatment. Combining ablation therapy of tumors with immunotherapy enhances the immunostimulating response and has synergistic effects for curative metastatic cancer treatment. Various ablative techniques are utilized including cryoablation, radiofrequency ablation, laser ablation, photodynamic ablation, stereotactic radiation therapy, alpha-emitting radiation therapy, hyperthermia therapy, HIFU. Thus, combinatorial ablation of tumors and immunotherapy is a way of achieving an autologous, in-vivo tumor lysate vaccine and treating metastatic disease.

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References

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  4. "The management". Nanobiotix. 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  5. "Levy, Laurent". The Wall Street Transcript. 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  6. Levy, L.; Hochepied, J. F.; Pileni, M. P. (1996). "Control of the Size and Composition of Three Dimensionally Diluted Magnetic Semiconductor Clusters". The Journal of Physical Chemistry. American Chemical Society (ACS). 100 (47): 18322–18326. doi:10.1021/jp960824w. ISSN   0022-3654.
  7. Levy, L.; Feltin, N.; Ingert, D.; Pileni, M. P. (1997). "Three Dimensionally Diluted Magnetic Semiconductor Clusters Cd1-yMnyS with a Range of Sizes and Compositions: Dependence of Spectroscopic Properties on the Synthesis Mode". The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. American Chemical Society (ACS). 101 (45): 9153–9160. doi:10.1021/jp970978r. ISSN   1520-6106.
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  10. Reuters Editorial (2020-03-05). "Officer Profile - Quotes". IN. Archived from the original on 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2020-03-06.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  11. Bonvalot, Sylvie; Rutkowski, Piotr L; Thariat, Juliette; Carrère, Sébastien; Ducassou, Anne; Sunyach, Marie-Pierre; Agoston, Peter; Hong, Angela; Mervoyer, Augustin; Rastrelli, Marco; Moreno, Victor; Li, Rubi K; Tiangco, Béatrice; Herraez, Antonio Casado; Gronchi, Alessandro; Mangel, László; Sy-Ortin, Teresa; Hohenberger, Peter; Baère, Thierry de; Cesne, Axel Le; Helfre, Sylvie; Saada-Bouzid, Esma; Borkowska, Aneta; Anghel, Rodica; Co, Ann; Gebhart, Michael; Kantor, Guy; Montero, Angel; Loong, Herbert H; Vergés, Ramona; Lapeire, Lore; Dema, Sorin; Kacso, Gabriel; Austen, Lyn; Moureau-Zabotto, Laurence; Servois, Vincent; Wardelmann, Eva; Terrier, Philippe; Lazar, Alexander J; Bovée, Judith V M G; Péchoux, Cécile Le; Papai, Zsusanna (2019-08-01). "NBTXR3, a first-in-class radioenhancer hafnium oxide nanoparticle, plus radiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone in patients with locally advanced soft-tissue sarcoma (Act.In.Sarc): a multicentre, phase 2–3, randomised, controlled trial". The Lancet Oncology. 20 (8): 1148–1159. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(19)30326-2 . ISSN   1470-2045. PMID   31296491.
  12. Swift, Diana (2019-07-16). "Novel Radioenhancer Boosts RT Response in Sarcoma". MedPage Today. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  13. Bonvalot, Sylvie; Le Pechoux, Cécile; De Baere, Thierry; Kantor, Guy; Buy, Xavier; Stoeckle, Eberhard; Terrier, Philippe; Sargos, Paul; Coindre, Jean Michel; Lassau, Nathalie; Ait Sarkouh, Rafik; Dimitriu, Mikaela; Borghi, Elsa; Levy, Laurent; Deutsch, Eric; Soria, Jean-Charles (2016-12-22). "First-in-Human Study Testing a New Radioenhancer Using Nanoparticles (NBTXR3) Activated by Radiation Therapy in Patients with Locally Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcomas". Clinical Cancer Research. 23 (4): 908–917. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16-1297 . PMID   27998887.
  14. Cynthia E. Keen. "Potential benefits of adding radioenhancer nanoparticles to RT treatment for soft-tissue sarcoma". Applied Radiation Oncology. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
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  20. Lévy, Laurent (2014). "Europe as leaders in nanomedicine: let's go for it!". Nanomedicine. Future Medicine Ltd. 9 (4): 389–391. doi:10.2217/nnm.14.14. ISSN   1743-5889. PMID   24787438.
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