The Flavien Foundation, a Monaco-based paediatric cancer charity, has received a generous donation of just over €51,000 from CFM Indosuez Wealth Management. The funds, generated through a solidarity-based client investment programme, have been earmarked for the stem cell and brain tumour research team at the Monaco Scientific Centre.
The foundation’s efforts to help fund important childhood brain cancer research have received a major boost thanks to the €51,112 cheque, which was presented to Denis Maccario, the founder of the Flavien Foundation, and the Monaco Scientific Centre’s (CSM) Dr. Vincent Picco earlier this month. The donation was made possible through a unique solidarity financing offer put forward by CFM Indosuez Wealth Management, in collaboration with Crédit Agricole CIB, which allowed clients to increase their socially responsible investments through contributions to projects that provide social value.
The CSM will be the ultimate recipient of the donation, and the funds will be used to support the team led by Dr Picco as they continue to work on alternative treatments for children suffering from brain tumours.
“Unlike cancers that affect adults, most paediatric cancers are composed of cells comparable to embryonic cells,” says Dr Picco, Research Lead Officer of the Mechanisms of Resistance to Targeted Therapies team in the CSM’s Medical Biology Department. “This suggests that a disruption in the formation of the nervous system during foetal development is responsible for their onset. However, analysing these phenomena using vertebrate study models, such as laboratory mice, is extremely complex and raises significant ethical issues.”
See more: Paediatric cancer: CSM reports encouraging results following clinical trials
To address these challenges, the CSM has partnered with Eric Röttinger’s team at the Cancer and Aging Research Institute in Nice, which specialises in the study of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. While this may seem an unusual collaboration, it is scientifically sound.
“Although these marine invertebrates have an extremely simple nervous system, their genetics are quite comparable to those of humans,” says Röttinger. “Additionally, we can perform genetic manipulations on these animals, particularly during their embryonic development.”
These characteristics allow scientists to study the onset of tumours caused by irregular genes formed early in nervous system development.
“Developing this study model will help us understand the origin and nature of paediatric cancers, with the ultimate aim of creating more specific and less toxic therapies than those currently available,” explains Dr Picco.
For CFM Indosuez’s clients, investments in schemes such as this solidarity-based programme offer them a chance to make a meaningful difference in the community.
“CFM Indosuez, the Flavien Foundation, and the Monaco Scientific Centre share a common societal ambition to support vulnerable children,” adds Mathieu Ferragut, CEO of CFM Indosuez Wealth Management. “This support also adds to Indosuez Group’s commitment to the Brain Institute in France.”
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L-R in photo: Mathieu Ferragut, CEO of CFM Indosuez Wealth Management; Dr Vincent Picco of the CSM; and Denis Maccario, the founder of the Flavien Foundation. Photo supplied