Every month, MassBio spotlights a member company and the great work they’re doing to advance the life sciences industry and support the patients we serve. For August, we spoke with Sébastien Langé, Business Developer North America and Boston Affiliate Manager. Sébastien has the responsibility to oversee and drive growth for the Firalis Molecular Precision US affiliate while spearheading efforts to globalize the subsidiary operations.
Tell us about your organization, its mission, and current initiatives. How do your organization’s activities help patients now and into the future?
Firalis Molecular Precision (FMP) operates as a veritable biomarker investigation agency for biotech and pharmaceutical companies, ultimately improving the development, effectiveness, and personalization of therapeutics. Our expertise revolves around biomarkers, those biological breadcrumbs that indicate disease presence, severity, or response to therapy. The identification and understanding of these biomarkers are the backbone of targeted therapies and personalized medicine, a realm in which many pharmaceutical and biotech companies are striving to make their mark. We explore the -omics, or the complete sets of biological components within the body – genes (genomics), proteins (proteomics), lipids (lipidomics) and metabolites (metabolomics) – with utmost precision. This deep analysis reveals the intricate pathways of disease and offers a profound understanding that directly informs drug discovery and development. In addition, FMP offers cutting-edge sample storage services and manages significant volumes of data generated by –omics investigations via bioinformatics and statistics to extract comprehensive insights from clinical samples.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the life sciences industry today?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are transforming the -omics fields, enhancing data analysis, accelerating biomarker discovery and drug development, and facilitating predictive modeling and integrative analysis. However, this revolution isn’t without challenges. Concerns around data privacy and ethics loom large as AI and ML techniques increasingly involve patient data. Lack of standardization in data collection, analysis, and interpretation can lead to inconsistencies. Overfitting models due to the complexity of biological systems and vast omics data might yield inaccurate predictions. Thus, while AI and ML hold tremendous promise for advancing omics and personalized medicine, addressing these challenges is critical to harnessing their full potential effectively.
What’s next for your organization / what are you focused on in the coming year?
Looking ahead, Firalis Molecular Precision’s ambition is to expand its global presence, thereby furnishing comprehensive support for drug development — from research to Phase 3 clinical trials — across the globe. Our endeavor aims to streamline partners’ processes, enhance analytical reproducibility, expedite turnaround times and give access to the last technological innovations. The key milestone of the next years will be the opening of a lab facility in the US to get closer to our US partners and customers.