Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux energies alternatives (CEA)
Infectious disease models for innovative therapies (IDMIT)
IDMIT (Infectious disease models for innovative therapies) is an infrastructure founded by five major academic institutions in France: CEA, INSERM, ANRS, Université Paris Sud and Institut Pasteur. The CEA is the legal entity coordinator of IDMIT. Bertin Pharma is a partner of CEA-IDMIT and as a CRO in charge of collaborations with the pharmaceutical industry as well as the implementation and management of the quality assurance programme. CEA-IDMIT develops NHP models for immune related disorders and infectious diseases for preclinical evaluation of human vaccines, immunotherapies and anti-microbial treatments. CEA-IDMIT has acquired strong expertise and skills in viral pathogenesis, treatment for prevention (microbicides, pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis) and vaccine immunology using NHP models of human viral infections, particularly through its contribution to the development of the NHP model of human HIV infection and AIDS. IDMIT-teams develop research programs using NHP models of human diseases: Flu, chikungunya virus, dengue virus, yellow fever, Ebola, malaria, Chlamydia infection and tuberculosis.
Within the PERISCOPE project, CEA-IDMIT establishes a pre-clinical model to study Bordetella pertussis infection and the efficacy of vaccination during pregnancy. IDMIT will develop technologies for imaging Bordetella pertussis infection, tissue lesions and host responses in this pre-clinical study. Additionally, CEA-IDMIT will study the role of mucosal immunity following infection or parenteral or nasal immunization. Furthermore, CEA-IDMIT will share its SOPs with PERISCOPE partners to harmonize the techniques used to assess B and T cell responses in pre-clinical and clinical studies.
Dr Roger Le Grand is the IDMIT chief executive since 2012. His research mainly focuses on non-human primate models of human viral infections. Dr Le Grand’s research group is currently developing NHP models for HIV, HBV, dengue, human influenza, Chikungunya, Chlamydia, Pertussis and new emerging diseases. Dr Le Grand is particularly interested in host-pathogen interactions and the prevention of viral transmission.