institut de Biologie Valrose - iBV

What institut de Biologie Valrose - iBV does

iBV (Institut de Biologie Valrose) is a French public academic research institute established in 1973, located at Parc Valrose in Nice and jointly operated under Université Côte d'Azur (UCA), CNRS, and Inserm. The institute comprises 27 research teams organized around four principal axes — developmental biology, cancer stem cell biology and oncology, neuroscience, and morphogenesis — and is staffed by approximately 71 employees including principal investigators, postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, engineers, and technical staff. Research is conducted using multiple model organisms (Drosophila, mouse, zebrafish, nematode, yeast, sea urchin, and human/patient samples) and is supported by six specialized shared platforms: Bioinformatics, Cytometry, Genetic Code Expansion (GCE), Histopathology, and Imaging, plus additional facility infrastructure.

The institute does not sell commercial products or services and operates on a publicly funded research model. Its revenue derives from core institutional allocations via CNRS, Inserm, and UCA, supplemented by competitive grants from European (ERC Starting Grants, Human Frontier Science Program), French national (ANR, FRM 'Equipe labellisée'), regional (Conseil départemental 06), and charitable (GEMLUC) sources, and by technology transfer through patents and spin-offs. Its principal stakeholders and collaborators are academic researchers, PhD students and postdocs, clinical partners at Nice University Hospital (notably the Neurosurgery Department and Central Pathological Anatomy Laboratory), and international collaborators across Europe. Outreach to the scientific community is achieved through peer-reviewed publications, the EMBO Workshop, seminar series, the Labex SIGNALIFE program, and a dedicated bio-incubator (ExAdEx-Innov).

Notable translational outputs include the discovery of a molecular 'toggle switch' controlling glioblastoma cell plasticity, which led to a patent filing on a therapeutic compound developed with the Nice Institute of Chemistry, and the 2024 spin-off Virtu Therapeutics created to commercialize glioblastoma treatment strategies. The institute has also produced award-winning research in neurodevelopmental disease (NR2F1 / Bosch-Boonstra-Schaaf Optic Atrophy Syndrome) using mouse models and human brain organoids, and in vascular biology, Drosophila morphogenesis, and renal development.

Name

institut de Biologie Valrose - iBV

Legal name

Institut de Biologie Valrose

Website

https://ibv.unice.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

iBV (Institut de Biologie Valrose) is a French public research institute in Nice, jointly operated under Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, and Inserm, conducting fundamental research in developmental biology, cancer stem cells, and neuroscience across 27 teams using multiple model organisms and six shared platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nice

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: iBV receives funding from multiple public sources including CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research), Inserm (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research), and Université Côte d'Azur (UCA). These institutional affiliations provide core operational funding.
2. Research Grants and Awards: Researchers at iBV secure competitive grants from organizations such as GEMLUC (€75,000 funding to Nicole Wagner for cancer immunotherapy project), ERC Starting Grants, and other European/national funding programs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

iBV is a public academic research institute conducting fundamental biological research in developmental biology, cancer stem cell biology, morphogenesis, and neuroscience using model organisms (Drosophila, mouse, zebrafish, nematode, yeast, sea urchin) and human samples. It operates shared research platforms (Bioinformatics, Cytometry, Genetic Code Expansion, Histopathology, Imaging) and a bio-incubator supporting startup translation, with research outputs disseminated through academic publications, collaborative clinical partnerships, and technology transfer via patent licensing and spin-off companies.

Product overview

iBV (Institut de Biologie Valrose) is a research institute affiliated with Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, and Inserm, focused on fundamental biological research in developmental biology, cancer stem cells, morphogenesis, and neuroscience. The institute offers a unified portfolio consisting of 26 research teams utilizing various model organisms (Drosophila, mouse, zebrafish, nematode, yeast, sea urchin), five shared research platforms (Bioinformatics, Cytometry, Genetic Code Expansion, Histopathology, and Imaging), and a bio-incubator supporting startup development. The institute does not offer commercial products or services but conducts fundamental research with potential applications in medicine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ExAdEx-Innov: Bio-incubator program at iBV
• Virtu Therapeutics

Products and services

• Research Platforms and Facilities
• Fundamental Research Programs
• Bio-Incubator (ExAdEx-Innov)

Quantifiable outcome

• Discovery of molecular 'toggle switch' mechanism controlling glioblastoma cell plasticity, leading to patent filing for therapeutic compound targeting cancer stem cells
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nice Institute of Chemistry (ICN Nice) - Dr M DucacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaboration with Dr Maria Duca's team for the development and characterization of innovative compounds targeting glioblastoma stem cells. A new molecule acting on the toggle switch has been identified and patented.
• Neuroradiologists in Milan, ItalyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaboration with neuroradiologists in Milan for MRI analysis of BBSOAS patients, leading to identification of neocortical malformations associated with NR2F1 mutations.
• Nice University Hospital - Neurosurgery DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Since 2009, the Virolle team has established a pipeline with the Neurosurgery Department for the supply of characterized primary brain tumors, enabling the generation of GSC primary cultures and tumor sample collections for glioblastoma research.
• Nice University Hospital - Central Pathological Anatomy LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Collaboration for characterization of tumor samples, providing essential pathological analysis for the GSC research pipeline.
• Genetic Code Expansion (GCE) PlatformcoreTechnology or IntegrationInternal platform at iBV headed by Krittalak Chakrabandhu, providing genetic code expansion services to research teams including Michèle Studer's team for studying protein interaction dynamics in neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Max Planck Institute Munich - Dr Silvia Cappello's labminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMichele Bertacchi trained in brain organoid techniques at this institute, enabling the team to develop human brain organoid models for studying NR2F1-dependent cortical development.
• University of Bordeaux - Electrophysiology expertsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for electrophysiology studies on Nr2f1-deficient neurons, discovering aberrant electric activity patterns in cortical neurons.
• Virtu TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup company created from Thierry Virolle's team research, aimed at developing innovative therapeutic strategies to fight against glioblastoma. Highlighted in Nice Matin and La Tribune.
• ICS N Gif sur Yvette - Dr F Roussy, Dr M LitaudonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for compound characterization in glioblastoma therapeutic development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Intergovernmental molecular biology research organization spanning developmental, cell, and structural biology with shared core facilities. Comparable mission and platform-centric operations, operating at much larger scale.
• Institut Pasteur: France's flagship public biomedical research institute covering immunology, developmental biology, neurobiology, and disease mechanisms. Shares iBV's multi-team public-institute structure and academic-cum-translational orientation, though at much broader scale.
• MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB): UK MRC-funded institute performing fundamental research in molecular and cell biology. Directly comparable as a multi-team, platform-rich public research institute, with a longer track record of biotech spin-outs.

Direct peers

• Institut Curie: Major French research-and-care institute combining fundamental biology with translational oncology under CNRS/Inserm affiliations. Directly comparable to iBV for cancer-stem-cell and developmental biology research and clinical-translation model.
• Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG): German basic-research institute on molecular cell biology, developmental biology, and tissue morphogenesis using model organisms. Direct comparison to iBV's Drosophila/zebrafish/mouse-based morphogenesis research.
• CRBM — Centre de Recherche en Biologie Cellulaire de Montpellier: CNRS research unit on cell division, cytoskeleton, and cell biology. Similar platform-facility model (imaging, cytometry) and developmental/cell biology focus to iBV.
• The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR): UK research institute and university college focused exclusively on cancer biology, including cancer stem cell programs and translational drug discovery. Closely comparable to iBV's glioblastoma and cancer-stem-cell agenda.
• Gurdon Institute (University of Cambridge): UK developmental biology research institute studying cell identity, morphogenesis, and cancer using model organisms. Closely aligned with iBV's developmental biology and cancer-research focus areas.
• CIML — Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy: CNRS/Inserm/Aix-Marseille Université research unit on immunology and related biology with multiple teams and shared facilities. Closely comparable organizational structure to iBV and overlapping interest in cell biology, morphogenesis, and disease modeling.
• IGMM — Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier: CNRS-affiliated French research unit focused on molecular genetics, genome integrity, and developmental biology. Comparable in scale, multi-team academic structure, and use of model organisms.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UChhdGD9oxul4fFWkChlpO1w
• Facebookfacebook.com/283304428939557
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institut-de-biologie-valrose-ibv
• Instagraminstagram.com/ibvnice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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