Is the translational approach becoming a reality in nanomedicine?

AbstractThis paper summarizes the key points discussed at the international conference held in Angers (France) on translational nanomedicine. During 3 days, more than 150 attendees presented their works and discussed through plenary sessions on how to translate to the clinics the discoveries found at lab scale. The importance of interdisciplinary works has been emphasized. New promising strategies inspired by biology were presented, such as bacteriophage associated silicon particles (BASP) in cancer therapy. Green nanotechnology, which limits the use of potentially toxic excipients to the benefit of natural compounds, is growing. Although there are various financial helps for the research and the training of next generations of researchers, the difficulties to find funding to go to the clinics has been illustrated by the squalene-conjugated nanoparticles that find no industrial support. Large-scale production of nanomedicines is also challenging to implement and pharmaceutical companies are developing new large-scale production tools to reach the patient bedside. Last but not least, regulation requirements and patenting have been forced to evolve and adapt to these particular vectors. As a conclusion, transversal collaborative research and a design of nanomedicine based on simplicity are two important levers to help these promising drugs to reach the patient.