From Research to Startup: Theralan’s Success Story

Published on October 13, 2023 in Entrepreneurship

When an innovator meets a university incubator, the result is an budding entrepreneur who thrives in an ecosystem supportive enough to help them flourish. This is the case for Romain Lanotte, a PhD alumnus of the University of Montpellier whose deep-tech startup, Theralan, is supported by the academic incubator Initium. Meet a passionate young researcher who aims to revolutionize cancer treatment in the coming years.

The meeting is set to take place at the Initium coworking space, located in the Port-Marianne neighborhood. On this late September day, which feels like an Indian summer, a back-to-school breakfast is being held there, bringing together some of the project leaders supported by the incubator. Among them is Romain Lanotte, 34. Last June, his Theralan project was officially approved to move into the incubation phase. This marks a major milestone in a journey that began several years earlier, when he was still a student.

From 2014 to 2018, Romain Lanotte worked on his PhD in health biology at the IRCM (Montpellier Cancer Research Institute). He “doesn’t count the hours” spent working on a complex subject:“My thesis focused on studying a molecule found on the surface of cancer cells and how to target it with therapeutic antibodies and potentially turn them into cancer drugs.”Antibodies are large molecules that can target the tumor to destroy it; this is known as immunotherapy. Despite the pressure—his final year of the thesis was funded by the League Against Cancer—the results were promising and led to a scientific publication and a patent application for the new molecules developed. And he already has plenty of ideas in mind:“During my thesis, I thought I could replicate the process on other molecules.” The young researcher isn’t the type to jump into things on a whim. Preferring to expand his professional and scientific experience, he’s aiming for a postdoc abroad, preferably across the Atlantic. But things don’t always go as planned.

Lockdown and Business Plan

Instead of heading to Toronto, Romain Lanotte is stuck at home due to the global health crisis caused by COVID-19. It’s spring 2020, and everything has come to a standstill. Instead of twiddling his thumbs, the newly graduated doctor dives back into his research:“I put my ideas on paper, I budgeted them, I taught myself about business plans and entrepreneurship online…” His financial situation remains precarious in these times of crisis. “As a young, unemployed doctor, I had a hard time convincing certain players in the ecosystem to support me on this entrepreneurial path ,” he admits. That’s why he accepted a position as director of studies at Eurofins, near his home, where he manages“more than 80 studies for pharmaceutical companies and a portfolio worth several million euros,” which reassured him of his ability to manage an entrepreneurial project. He stayed there for a year and a half before resigning in January 2023, turning down a permanent contract in the process. The decision was made: he was going to throw himself 300% into his business venture, to which he was already dedicating a good portion of his free time.

i-PhD Award Winner with Pepite Deep Tech

“I saw the call for applications to join the Initium incubator; since I was an alumnus, it was a perfect fit,” says Romain Lanotte. “I was accepted into the Pépite Deeptech program, launched as part of the University Innovation Cluster (PUI). Why deep tech? Because it’s disruptive innovation—something that aims to transform society—and that’s exactly what I want to do with the molecules I’m developing.” For six months, his startup project, named Theralan, took shape and things finally started moving:“The incubator gave me the credibility I needed. Thanks to its support, I was able to convince several key players in the ecosystem—such as Inserm, the CNRS, and the SATT AxLR—to help me access competitions and entrepreneurship training… ” The hard work paid off. In 2023, Romain Lanotte was one of only two winners in Eastern Occitanie of the national i-PhD innovation competition—both of whom, incidentally, had emerged from the Pepite DeepTech program—and also secured funding from the Montpellier Innovation Booster (BIM), which enabled him to launch the initial stages of research and development.

Making things possible

What about tomorrow? As part of Initium’s incubation phase, the future entrepreneur continues to receive support as he tackles new challenges. In this regard, his journey perfectly illustrates the ups and downs of a deep-tech entrepreneur in the healthcare sector. Still registered with Pôle Emploi, Romain Lanotte needs to quickly join a research institute to access maturation programs that match Theralan’s scientific and economic ambitions. He already has a pretty good idea about this:“I’d like to work with the Montpellier Institute of Functional Genomics, where I completed my first year of my master’s degree; they’re experts in this field, and the lab strongly supports me in this project. It’s the ideal place to continue this R&D.”

The fact remains that his project is clearly defined:“We’re going to develop a new class of drugs for treating cancer and other diseases—drugs that are more potent and less toxic than what’s currently available.” The challenge now is to secure the funding that will make this possible, which is the main focus of this incubation phase:“We’ll need to raise funds to develop our molecule into the clinical phase; I’ve already estimated the project’s cost at several million. Our goal? To enter Phase 1 clinical trials by 2028 to treat the first patient with a brain tumor and offer a truly effective therapy that extends these patients’ survival.”The young researcher from Montpellier won’t give up:“This is truly my life’s work.” 

Keywords: Deeptech, Entrepreneurship, Incubator, Initium, Innovation, Research