The Generative Brain

Alliance Biosecure Foundation (private foundation funding prion research)

Alliance BioSecure was a French research foundation set up to fund work on biological safety in food and health, with prions named in its statutes. It was recognised as of public utility in December 2006, was founded by plasma product, filtration and decontamination companies with blood donor federations, and received research ministry money and support from the EFS. It ran yearly calls for projects; the 2008 call shared 450,000 euro, a fifth prion biosafety call ran in 2012, and a 2015 call was announced at the Prion2015 meeting. The legal entity was struck off on 2 September 2013; search excerpts say it became a foundation sheltered by the Fondation pour la Recherche Medicale (FRM). Its name appears as a funder on French prion test and strain papers from 2016 to 2021, including the EFS Surf-PMCA decontamination test and the EFS plasma test for variant CJD. Information only.

Key facts

  • The foundation was recognised as of public utility in December 2006, as one of the research foundations announced in June 2004 by the minister delegated for research.
  • The register lists the Fondation de Recherche Alliance Biosecure (SIREN 494 215 007) in Paris, created 6 December 2006 and closed and struck off on 2 September 2013.
  • Article 1 of its statutes set the aim of advancing the analysis, understanding and management of public health risks from current or emerging microbiological agents, prions in particular, in the food and health fields.
  • Its stated scope ran from detection (plasma qualification and population exposure) through decontamination of surgical and diagnostic equipment to checking the removal steps used for plasma derivatives and labile blood products.
  • Founders were the plasma products makers LFB and Baxter and the filtration, decontamination and testing firms Macopharma, Steris and Albhades Provence; the French federation of voluntary blood donors and its union joined, the research ministry gave funding, and the EFS and the national blood transfusion institute (INTS) supported it.
  • In 2008 its scientific council was co-chaired by Jean-Philippe Deslys of the CEA prion group at Fontenay-aux-Roses and by Paul Brown, a former NIH senior investigator, and its board was chaired by an LFB director.
  • The 2008 call ran from 11 April to 15 May 2008 with 450,000 euro in total, open to public and private teams.
  • A search excerpt of the foundation's own news page reports a fifth call for projects on biological safety in the prion field in 2012 and a unanimous board decision to become a foundation sheltered by the FRM; a directory excerpt also lists it as sheltered by the FRM.
  • A Call for Projects 2015 was announced at the Prion2015 conference, with the deadline extended to 30 June 2015, shortlisted applicants presenting in Paris on 28 October and grantees told in November.
  • The foundation funded the Surf-PMCA project at EFS Montpellier, the steel wire test for variant CJD prions used to compare decontamination products, per the 2016 PLoS One funding statement.
  • It is one of the listed funders of the 2016 EFS study that detected prions in plasma of people with variant CJD, including before symptoms.
  • Its project BoHuToHu is listed on two 2016 INRA Jouy-en-Josas papers on cross-species transmission of human and bovine prions in transgenic mice, one finding no evidence linking L-type BSE to known sporadic CJD forms.
  • Grant FABS201403 is listed on the 2020 Toulouse paper showing sporadic CJD prions propagate as strain mixtures and on the 2021 Toulouse paper on prion strains in French and UK growth hormone iatrogenic CJD.

Timeline

  1. 2004The research ministry presents a set of new research foundations, Alliance BioSecure among them.
  2. 2006Foundation created and recognised as of public utility.
  3. 20082008 call for projects opens, 450,000 euro in total, closing 15 May 2008.
  4. 2012Fifth call for projects on biological safety in the prion field (search excerpt only).
  5. 2013Legal entity closed and struck off the register; a search summary links this to a decree approving dissolution and transfer of assets to the FRM.
  6. 2015Call for Projects 2015 deadline extension announced at Prion2015, new deadline 30 June 2015.
  7. 2016Surf-PMCA decontamination paper published with Alliance Biosecure funding.
  8. 2016First of two INRA Jouy papers listing project BoHuToHu published.
  9. 2016EFS plasma test for variant CJD published with Alliance Biosecure among the funders.
  10. 2020Toulouse sporadic CJD strain mixture paper published listing grant FABS201403.
  11. 2021Toulouse growth hormone iatrogenic CJD strain paper published listing grant FABS201403.
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