Torskal to Speak at ACCESS CHINA Partnering Forum

December 20th, 2024 (Shanghai) — We are glad to announce that Anne-Laure Morel, the President and Founder of Torskal, will be presenting at the ACCESS CHINA Partnering Forum @ JPM on January 7th-9th, and 21st-23rd, 2025. ACCESS CHINA Biotech Forum is the largest corporate access event between Asia and the Western biopharma industry.

About Torskal

Torskal is a promising medtech company developing a revolutionary anti-cancer nano-device using plasmonic phototherapy (PPT).
Through a green chemistry process (meeting G20 expectations for the sustainable, ethical, and responsible development of innovative healthcare products), the patented technology destroys surface tumors with heat without affecting healthy tissues. This is achieved by combining a medical laser with nanoparticles, unlike conventional chemotherapy, which chemically destroys tumor cells through long treatments that cause side effects.

Founded in 2015, Torskal is a growing biotech company supported by an international network of experts and leading multidisciplinary academic research laboratories (INSERM Oncothai, CNRS CEA, Institut Pasteur, etc.). Focused on oncology with several nanotheranostic (monitoring and treatment) candidates in development, its first process, the Nanotheranostics Project – NT1, is almost entering Phase 1 clinical trials for basal cell carcinoma.

At a glance:

Sector: Medtech
Mission: Developing pioneering non-invasive and environmentally friendly technologies that combine nanoparticles and medicinal plants for the treatment of surface cancers (carcinomas, etc.).
Development: This first therapeutic indication aims to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of this healthcare product before offering more complex solutions, such as combining immunotherapy for advanced diseases and deep cancers.

Torskal’s activity is divided into two main strategic business areas (SBAs):

Oncology – Developing new anti-cancer products for the treatment of surface and deep cancers.
Commercial Division – Supplying gold nanoparticles and providing R&D services (chemical analyses).

The oncology health programs are based on two key patents: MOH1 and MOH2.

MOH1: Covers the eco-friendly production of metallic nanoparticles through green chemistry for surface cancers. This foundational patent is 100% owned by SAS Torskal.
MOH2: Covers applications for deep cancers and is co-owned (50% CNRS and 50% Torskal).

Our Value Proposition:

Fundraising: With an already solid technological foundation and proven applications, Torskal is seeking €10M to finance clinical investigations and nanoparticle production.

Our Team: Driven by a passionate and committed team dedicated to developing alternative green nanotechnologies that reduce side effects by targeting and killing only cancer cells in a single dose, Torskal aims to accelerate its development based on deep market insights and relentless execution capabilities.

We look forward to your interest and engagement with this transformative opportunity.

Anne-Laure Morel

About the speaker

Anne-Laure Morel holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry of Materials from the University of Pierre and Marie Curie (Paris 6) and also holds a Master’s degree in Structural Biochemistry in Biology, Physics and Chemistry from the Universities of Bordeaux I and Bordeaux II. She diversified her skills through a European Master in Strategy and Business Management, then through an Executive Master in Business Management at ESCP Europe-Paris.

She began her studies in biochemistry and organic chemistry at the University of Bordeaux 2 Victor Segalen, where she studied the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles by sonochemistry and functionalization with organosilicon and peptides. These superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, called SPIOs, were intended to be novel MRI contrast agents for targeting tumor angiogenesis at an early stage. This emerging theme welcomed her from 2005 to 2007 within the CNRS teams of the biochemical chemistry laboratory of Prof. Gerard Deleris and the CNAB-CEA laboratory headed by Dr. Serguei Nikitenko.

During her doctoral thesis conducted from 2007 to 2010 in the surface reactivity laboratory at the University of Paris 6, Anne-Laure Morel studied the design of 3D biosensors to increase the detection sensitivity of small molecules in solution by the PM-IRRAS technique. This development consisted in the functionalization of flat surface of gold and silver by spherical gold nanoparticles. Monitoring of nanostructuration was directly correlated with the semi-quantitative measurement of biomolecules detected by PM-IRRAS.

From 2025-2024, she has developed green nanotechnology using medicinal plant extracts from Indian ocean for the design of metallic nanotheranostics for the treatment of cancers.

She obtained her habilitation to conduct research in University of Réunion Island France in 2024.

Involved in the economic world, Anne-Laure Morel is part of the French G20 Young Enterprise Alliance’s Young Entrepreneurs’ Delegation since 2018 for a more sustainable economic future.

She set up the company TORSKAL in 2015 after having developed metallic nanoparticles by patented ecological process. These nanoparticles are new-generation anticancer drugs that do not act by their toxicity but by a physical process inducing localized hyperthermia after activation by irradiation. The physical properties of materials are exploited (magnetic, plasmonic) for thermal destruction of tumors. The projects have received support from Europe, the French government, the Regional Council of La Reunion, the public investment bank of France (BPI France). Several times rewarded by the 2015 Ilab Contest, national Future Investment Plan (PIA3) in 2018, Overseas’ Network Association’s innovation contest, Frenchtech tour India in 2017, winner of the Let’s go France competition in the category “France that shines internationally”, the regional competition 10,000 startups to change the world and recently semi-finalist in the biotech category of the European competition EIT Health Catapult.

Torskal is part of the European, national, and regional ecosystem of the Indian Ocean zone. Torskal’s ambition is to participate actively in the emergence of green nanomedicine around the world by creating an alliance with major Chinese and European partners.

About ACCESS CHINA Partnering Forum

ACCESS CHINA Partnering Forum @ JPM is scheduled to be held on January 7th-9th, and 21st-23rd, 2025, via Zoom webinar. This event helps biotechs/pharmas efficiently present their assets in front of 500+ healthcare companies and VCs online. During the event, the audience can have access to innovative pharma and healthcare products from worldwide.

Conference Name: ACCESS CHINA Partnering Forum

Date & Time: January 7-9 (Live), and 21-23(VoD), 2025, China time

Content: Keynote Speeches, Panel Discussion, Company Presentations, ChemPartner-ACCESS CHINA Dinner Reception

Scale: Expected 500+ participants Online; 100 company roadshows

Participants: Pharma/Biotech senior management and BDs

View more information at https://biotochina.org/