Established in 2018, Dendrogenix is a Belgian biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative drugs based on Dendrogenins, which are small molecules with high therapeutic potential. Dendrogenix is dedicated to the preclinical and clinical development of Dendrogenins, mainly in the field of neuronal degeneration, with a particular focus on auditory degeneration.
The company was founded in 2018 by Stéphane Silvente, among all the others business angels. At that time, they were 4 while nowadays the team consists of 12 researchers supported by CA members and external experts who provide fundamental guidance for their research. Together they constitute this dynamic team in Belgium, where they develop first-in-class Dendrogenins, to tackle high unmet medical needs within the domains of hearing loss and neurology.
Dendrogenix is split into three departments:
The chemists are responsible for the synthesis of dendrogenins, the biologists evaluate their biological activity using established models while the drug development department facilitates the progression of the lead compounds through clinical trials.
Dr. Dario Mosca and Dr. Arnaud Rives submerged us in their world and unique working environment. Since 2018, substantial transformations have occurred, including an expansion in the research team, necessitating relocation to larger premises. Although Dendrogenix is divided in 3 departments, the teams collaborate on a daily basis. Dr. Mosca elucidates: “In the beginning, I was only involved in the meetings and projects of the chemical department. However now, I also attend the biology meetings, and contribute insights to their advancements. Our connectivity, cohesion, and proximity facilitate a comprehensive overview of the company's progress across scientific, logistical, and project management domains.”
They are conscient that this is not a classical way of working, but none of them would like to change it. This is what they call the « Dendrogenix culture »: polyvalent and multidisciplinary people that work together as one and not as 3 separate teams
Dr. Arnaud Rives, Head of the chemistry department at Dendrogenix, used to purify crude reaction products using an autoflash system in his former company. At that time, he was using the previous generation of Teledyne ISCO Combiflash NextGen 300+. Dr. Rives loved this instrument and he wanted to acquire a modern version for Dendrogenix. He believes that this instrument is very important for every chemistry laboratory doing organic synthesis. Dr. Rives says: “we got in touch with Anne-Lise Borret (Sales engineer at ChemSPX) who assisted us in searching and selecting all required instruments and accessories. Nowadays, when we need new instrumentation, it is a natural step for us to check whether it is also available within the product range of ChemSPX.”
Dr. Mosca continues: “Within our organic synthesis laboratory, our daily work consists of: setup, treatment and purification of reactions. The Discover 2.0 facilitates the setup phase, while the NextGen 300+ simplifies the purification step. The combination of these two instruments results in significant ameliorations. Formerly, we relied on conventional heating methods at 130°C for durations ranging from 1 to 10 days. Through microwave irradiation, we have markedly reduced heating times to 1 to 3 hours (depending on reactants) while reducing reactant equivalents and achieving improved yields.
These improvements extend to decreased energy and water consumption since maintaining reflux conditions for several days requires a lot of tap water for the cooling system. Moreover, the self-tuning microwave and iWave temperature sensor (features of the Discover 2.0), enable energy conservation compared to conventional heating methods. Last but not least, this is really green chemistry using far less solvents and reagents.”
“The integration of both instruments, Combiflash NextGen 300+ (Teledyne Isco) and the Discover 2.0 (CEM), has yielded substantial benefits for our laboratory operations, notably in terms of time efficiency and reductions in reagent, water, and energy consumption."
“From our initial contact with Anne-Lise Borret to the after-sales and technical support provided by Dr. Mathias Elsocht (Product Specialist at ChemSPX), including the opportunity and availability to test both instruments for a couple of days to evaluate them before purchase, we are delighted to collaborate with the ChemSPX team. They are always happy to help, give a demonstration or deliver support whenever we have an (applicative) question. Given the complexity of our molecules, getting the ability to test the instruments within our lab has been a real game changer. Furthermore, we received instructional materials, including a video demonstrating the monthly maintenance of the ELS-detector for optimal sensitivity.”
“We hope to maintain this collaboration at the same level and quality for the upcoming years.” concluded both Dr. Mosca and Dr. Rives.
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