
A clinical-stage biotech

A CNRS spin-off that has developed into a clinical phase biotechnology company
Dr. Aziz Moqrich’s groundbreaking discoveries in 2007 regarding the analgesic potential of the TAFA4 protein led to the creation of the biopharmaceutical company Tafalgie Therapeutics in 2020, headquartered in the heart of the Marseille Luminy technology park.
In just a few years, the company has become an innovative biotech firm developing a proprietary drug discovery platform focused on endogenous proteins in the nervous system, with a first clinical-stage candidate, TT5, targeting acute and chronic post-operative pain.
+20
people and benefits
+30
researchers and advisors
5
families of patents
1
industrial partnership in the veterinary domain
4
candidate drugs

1
winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Medicin including SAB
Timeline
Key successes

Production according to good manufacturing practices (GMP)
Production of GMP-compliant batches of our candidate molecules

A preliminary licensing agreement
Increasing the potential transversality of our innovation in veterinary domain

Proof-of-concept
Analgesic efficacy demonstrated in preclinical models, without the development of tolerance phenomena

Comparison with reference treatments for pain
Analgesic effect equivalent to those of morphine and opioids, such as methadone, without the adverse effects

TAFAFIRST
To evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of TT5, as well as early signs of analgesic efficacy in the treatment of pain.
Teams
A large range of skills
With many years of work and commitment within the pharmaceutical and biotechnological sectors, our organisation draws its strength from experienced professionals combining their expertise and passion. The company is managed by a management board and an executive committee, supervised by a supervisory board, and advised by two scientific and clinical advisory boards composed of renowned opinion leaders.
Tafalgie benefits from the support of world-renowned opinion leaders, such as Professor Clifford Woolf, Professor Jon Levine and Professor Ardem Patapoutian, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine and Winfried MeiBner et Nadia Malliou.
Eric Schettini
- Eric Schettini is an accomplished entrepreneur and investor, with an outstanding track record in innovative companies, particularly in the biopharmaceutical sector. Eric has over 25 years of operational experience in asset management and corporate finance as founding Chairman of Viveris Management, a company managing over 3 billion euros in 2010, with funds dedicated to real estate, energy infrastructure and private equity. In this capacity, Eric has supported many SMEs with a high technological added value, notably in the biotech (with a dedicated portfolio of a 9 biopharmaceutical companies), renewable energies/environment and NTIC sectors, during their development, sale and/or intellectual property (IP) phases.
- Following the sale of his company to Swiss Life and the ACG Group in 2011, Eric refocused on his historical activity as an equity investor in technology companies through his investment holding company, Mirabel Partners. He has held mandates as operational manager or non-executive chairman in numerous SMEs in his portfolio, including Crosscall, Cabesto, and Tiempo Secure.
- Eric has also held several positions in the financial and banking sector, providing him with solid experience in this field through his involvement in market operations (takeover bids, public exchange offers, delistings.
- He brings financial expertise, strong networks, and a wealth of experience to Tafalgie Therapeutics. The commitment and dedication of the Tafalgie teams bear witness to Eric’s inspiring leadership and deep understanding of the strategic challenges.
Laurent Labatut
- After working as a senior manager at several international companies (Danone, Pernod-Ricard, Indosuez, Groupe Gascogne), Laurent Labatut acquired solid industrial experience as a CEO during 17 years at DRT, the world leader in the valorization of rosin and turpentine extracted from pine resin.
- Following the sale of this company to one of the world leaders of flavorings and fragrances, he decided to redirect his career towards investment and joined Tikehau Capital, one of France’s leading private equity groups, as a partner. He brings to Tafalgie Therapeutics his in-depth knowledge of complex project management and ability to lead a high-level board.
Olivier Blin
Prof. Olivier Blin (MD, PhD, MBA) blends exceptional pharmaceutical industry experience with academic distinction. As former Head of Unit Physician at GSK Shanghai’s CNS medicine early development, he pioneered crucial drug development programs. His track record includes conducting clinical studies for 15 drug marketing authorizations and supervising multiple EMA/FDA Orphan Drug Designations. He initiated the transformative 90M€ Cengeps program, revolutionizing French hospital clinical research. His influence in public-private partnerships is highlighted by his leadership of the 27M€ IMI European PharmaCog project for Alzheimer’s drug development and his contributions to EMA guidelines. His expertise was further recognized through his appointment to the IMI (EFPIA and EC) scientific committee in Brussels.
Aziz Moqrich
- Dr. Aziz Moqrich is a neuroscientist and the main inventor behind Tafalgie’s scientific breakthrough. He is Tafalgie’s Chief Scientific Officer, Vice-Chairman, and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory board.
- Aziz obtained his PhD in neuroscience from Aix-Marseille University in 2000, after which he spent five years as a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Ardem Patapoutian’ at the Scripps Research Institute in California. As Patapoutian’s first postdoctoral fellow, he made a major contribution to establishing the laboratory and launching a wide range of highly challenging and risky projects subsequent recognized by a Nobel Prize.
- Aziz is Research Director at the CNRS. He head the “Chronic pain: molecular and cellular mechanisms” team at the IBDM. He is a seasoned principal investigator, with 20 years of experience in laboratory management. He has made breakthrough discoveries in the field of somatic sensory biology, particularly in terms of molecular characterization of the primary sensory neurons underlying pain sensation (see for instance Moqrich et al., Nat Neurosci 2004 and Science 2005, Delfini et al., Cell Rep 2013, Gaillard et al., Neuron 2014, Reynders et al., Cell Rep 2015, Kambrun et al., Cell Rep, 2018, Bohic et al., Cell Rep 2020, Yoo et al., 2021, Cell Rep). His scientific contributions received recognition through the 2021 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology awarded jointly to his postdoctoral mentor Ardem Patapoutian at TSRI and David Julius at UCSF.
- A. Moqrich has published more than 40 papers (h-index: 19; more than 8000 citations). He is frequently invited to speak at national and international events (over 140 invitations worldwide). He is associate editor for the journal Pain, has served as Deputy President of the ANR (Neuro-CE-16 2017-2020), and is an expert for the FRS-FNRS (Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique) in Belgium. He is a frequent reviewer for high-profile journals, including Neuron, Nat Neurosci, J Neurosci, and Cell Reports. He was awarded an ATIP-CNRS grant in 2006. He has coordinated several ANR projects, an FRM project and has received an ERC grant. Aziz Moqrich received the Fondation Unité-Guerra-Paul-Beaudoin-Lambrecht-Maïano Institut de France prize and an award for the best scientific contribution of Moroccans worldwide. A. Moqrich’s team currently has 10 members: 3 CNRS permanent scientists, 1 CNRS research engineer, 1 AMU associate professor and 5 PhD students.
Stephane Gaillard
- Stephane has a PhD in cell biology and biochemistry, with a background in neurobiology. Pain biology is his specialty and he is an expert in pain-associated behavior. He has published over 19 high-impact articles (including articles in Neuron and Cell Reports) and has almost 900 citations.
- In 2013, he founded Phenotype Expertise, a contract research organization specializing in behavioral analyses in the field of pain and the CNS, which is now a subsidiary of Tafalgie Therapeutics. It counts a number of French and international biotech companies and major pharmaceutical groups among its clients.
- With more than 10 years of entrepreneurial experience, Stephane is the General Manager and Head of R&D at Tafalgie Therapeutics.
Caroline Mathon
- Caroline acquired specialist expertise and experience in structuring the financing of SMEs with a high growth potential through a personalized global, multidisciplinary approach. She then set up her own consulting firm, subsequently joining forces with Eric Schettini in 2013, after more than five years of very close collaboration, to focus on supporting innovative companies, in the life sciences sector in particular.
- She brings to the company her expertise in managing complex legal, financial and organizational projects, and her ability to manage support, intermediate and back-office teams.
Emma Schettini
- Emma Schettini holds a master’s degree in control, auditing and reporting (CAR) from Paris-Dauphine University. Her professional journey began in the banking sector, working at Société Générale. She then gained experience in auditing and consulting within a large corporation before transitioning to financial control in the industrial domain.
- Since October 2022, Emma has been the Head of Finance at Tafalgie Therapeutics . In this role, she is responsible for managing budgets, projections, and other financial aspects of the business. The diversity of her professional experience has resulted in versatile expertise in the fields of finance, auditing, and financial control, all of which serve her well in her current position.
Joanie Del Bano
- Joanie Del Bano is a pharmacist specializing in pharmaceutical innovation and clinical research. After a pharmacy residency at Marseille University Hospital, she obtained a PhD in immuno-oncology for her work developing new therapeutic bispecific proteins (Marseille Cancer Research Center). She completed her training by obtaining a postgraduate diploma in biostatistics from the Sorbonne and a healthcare finance certificate from MIT (USA).
- Joanie Del Bano gradually took on the role of scientific director for public-private projects in neurosciences and rare diseases, and associate director in charge of regulatory affairs for clinical drug development. She is also the CEO and cofounder of the consulting company TheloniusMind. She is now a member of the board and Head of Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs at Tafalgie Therapeutics.
Ardem Patapoutian
- Ardem Patapoutian is an American scientist of Armenian origin. He is molecular biologist
specializing in sensory transduction. - His research has led to the identification of novel ion channels and receptors activated by temperature, mechanical force, and increased
cell volume. His laboratory has shown that these ion channels play crucial roles in sensing temperature, touch, proprioception, pain, and regulating vascular tone. - Patapoutian was born in Lebanon in 1967 and attended the American University of
Beirut for one year before he immigrated to The United States in 1986 and became a US
citizen. He graduated from UCLA in 1990 and received his Ph.D. at Caltech in the lab of
Dr. Barbara Wold in 1996. After postdoctoral work with Dr. Lou Reichardt at UCSF, he
joined the faculty of Scripps Research in 2000, where he currently holds the Presidential
Endowed Chair and is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. He also held a
position at the Genomics Institute of The Novartis Research Foundation from 2000-
2014. - Patapoutian was awarded the Young Investigator Award from the Society for
Neuroscience in 2006 and was named an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute in 2014. - He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2016), a member of the National Academy of Sciences (2017) and a member
of American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020). - He is a co-recipient of the 2017 Alden Spencer Award from Columbia (with David Ginty), the 2019 Rosenstiel Award for
Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research (with David Julius), the 2020 Kavli Prize
in Neuroscience (with David Julius), and the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (with David Julius).
Clifford Woolf
- CLIFFORD J. WOOLF was born in South Africa, where he earned his MB, BCh, and Ph.D. degrees. He then moved to London and became Professor of Neurobiology at University College London. In 1997 he was recruited by the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School to serve as the Richard J. Kitz Professor of Anesthesiology Research and director of the Neural Plasticity Research Group.
- In 2010 he was named director of the F. M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and became Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology at HMS. He is faculty both in the department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and in the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
- In 2022 he was appointed the Blackfan-Diamond Chair of Neuroscience Research at Boston Children’s. In 2020 Dr. Woolf was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was awarded a Doctoris Honoris Causa from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, he received a Gill Distinguished Scientist award and the Reeve-Irvine medal in 2017, and in 2015, the Kerr award from the American Pain Society.
- He has published over 320 research papers on molecular, cellular, and systems neurobiology and has 35 issued patents. He has an h-index of 166 and 124,000 citations. His research is devoted to investigating how the functional, chemical, and structural plasticity of neurons is involved in both the normal adaptive functions of the nervous system and in maladaptive changes that contribute to neurological diseases, with a particular focus on pain, regeneration, and neurodegeneration and on the exploitation of stem cell derived neurons to model disease and for drug screening.
Dr. Woolf has founded several companies and is a consultant and SAB member for several pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
Jon Levine
Nadine Attal
Winfried MEIßNER
Laure Lo Ré
Catarina Santos
Nafisatou Drame
Aurelie Morin
Charlotte Dubois
Paola Pietri
Isabelle Moqrich
Mathilde Schettini
Romain Rauly
In parallel, he qualified as a European and a French Patent Attorney in 2017 and 2020, respectively. Thanks to his background in patent, trademark, and copyright protection, he is expert in intellectual property management, with particular expertise in the pharmaceutical industry.
Aude Charron
Adja Fatou Diack
Alexandre Desfoux
Laetitia Lyscar
Luc Riols
Nadia Malliou
Johanne Waltsburger



Strategy / Business development
A licensing-Driven Business Model focused on signing strategic partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies and based on a proprietary platform that is a benchmark in drug discovery.
One of the principal assets of Tafalgie is the globally recognized quality of the R&D programmes performed by the teams of Dr Aziz Moqrich. Over a period of more than 20 years, their work has led to major scientific discoveries in the domain of pain, the filing of three patents and more than 50 publications in leading scientific journals.
Building on these solid foundations, Tafalgie Therapeutics identifies, creates and develops candidate molecules to advanced stages before signing partnership contracts with world-leading pharmaceutical companies in order to control the overall risk of clinical development.

Ambition ? To become a European centre of excellence in the domain of pain with several first-in-class candidate drugs

