Alain Beck, Ph.D completed a BS in Biochemistry & a PhD in Bio-organic Chemistry at the University of Strasbourg (France, 1989). He then went to McGill University, Montreal, as a Post-doc (1989-90). Back to France, he became the first employee of MEDAFOR, a start-up company involved in discovery & development of natural products & small drugs (Alzheimer’s disease).
From 1990 to 1993, Beck was in charge of set-up & management of a chemistry unit (medicinal & analytical chemistry, PK/PD, radioprotection). He then joined Pierre Fabre Médicament in 1994 at the Center of Immunology Pierre Fabre, an integrated biotech R&D institute focused on Therapeutic Antibodies (mAbs) and Vaccines. He first held a position of Head of Analytical Research & QC. In 1995, Beck became Head of Physico-Chemistry Department & a member of CIPF’s board of Directors.
From 1994 to date, as a multi-activity project-team leader and/or member, he contributed to the R&D of vaccines, synthetic peptides and mAbs (cancer, inflammatory & infectious diseases). These projects covered discovery (RSV, PIV3 & oncology; HIV, HCV with BioMérieux; Leishmania with INSERM), translation to human clinical trials: RSV vaccine with the RIT of Stockholm, University of Rotterdam & WHO in Geneva, melanoma vaccine with the LICR, Lausanne, solid tumors & hematological malignancies (MK-0646/ dalotuzumab [IGF-1R], Merck & Co, NJ; h224G11 [cMet], Abbott, IL) & interactions with regulatory authorities (AFSSAPS, EMA, FDA, PEI, WHO).
Back is co-inventor on 16 patents, author/ co-author of nearly 100 publications, Associate Editor of mAbs, invited contributor of Nature Rev. Immunol., Anal. Chem., Exp. Op, Disc. Med., guest editor of Curr Pharm Biotech, Médecine/ Sciences and Meth. in. Mol. Biol. (Glyco-engineering). He has contributed to near 160 scientific meetings as chairman, invited speaker, panelist, moderator, advisor, and/or organizer (Antibodies, Antibody-Drug Conjugates, Biobetters, Biosimilars, Bispecifics, Fc-fusions, Protein Scaffolds, Mass Spectrometry). He has also participated to boards of biomedical & biotechnological experts for the WHO (Vaccines & Biologics, Geneva), for the EMA (Workshop on biosimilar mAbs, London), for the European Commission (7th FP, Brussels), for Genome British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada), for the Dutch Technology funding agency (STW, Utrecht), for the Czech Science Foundation (GACR, Prague), for most of the French innovation agencies (ANR/ Labex, INCa, INSERM-Transfert, OSEO), for valorization units of Universities (Limoges, Strasbourg, Tours, Utrecht) and of the pharma industry (LEEM Biotech Immunotherapies).
