About us
ILONOV is a preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company, spin off of the European Diabetes Study Center (CeeD), dedicated to developing first-in-class biotherapies against diabetes and metabolic diseases, harvesting the breakthrough potential of the muscle secretome to regulate metabolism, a novel and unexplored approach.
Pipeline
Our goal is to alleviate the burden of daily diabetes management and eliminate severe complications like renal failure, which causes patients to endure expensive and debilitating treatments and reduces their life expectancy.
Type 1 Diabetes
We aim at achieving the first functional cure for T1D by enhancing beta cell replacement therapies (pancreatic islet or stem cell transplant). Our innovation is a unique combination of pre- and post-transplant treatments based on ILV-001, ensuring better islet survival at every step of the transplant, limiting graft rejection and enhancing its potency in the long term.
Type 2 Diabetes
We aim at stopping the progression of T2D by achieving a post-exercice state in patients thanks to our biotherapy, preventing the onset of diabetic complications. Importantly, our asset is capable of restoring insulin sensitivity of peripheral tissues and protects insulin-secreting cells from chronic inflammation and decline in the long term.
References
[1] Bouzakri et al. Diabetes 2003
[2] Bouzakri et al. Diabetes 2011
[3] Rutti et al. 2014, Rutti et al. 2018
Our Science
Harnessing the power of the muscle secretome for therapy
The muscle secretome
The muscle is not solely an effector responsible for our bodies’ movements. It is an endocrine organ playing a major role in maintaining a healthy metabolic balance. Following exercise, it releases to the blood stream a multitude of hormones acting in a systemic manner throughout the body, communicating with other organs.
Therapeutic potential of myokines
We are leveraging the potential of those hormones, naturally secreted by the muscles, called myokines, for therapeutic purposes, as by mimicking exercise they are capable of restoring metabolic balance. In our Proof of concept studies, we have characterized one of those hormones, ILV-001, which is a major player in the endocrine signalling of the post-exercise state, directly linking physical activity and metabolic control.
ILV-001 shows strong cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory properties, thus protecting insulin-secreting islets and, in parallel, enhancing their potency through the stimulation of insulin secretion.
Founding team
President & Chief Scientific Officer
Dr Karim BOUZAKRI
He is an expert in the translational physiology of metabolism and the muscle secretome. With an impact factor of 27, his work gained over 5000 citations by peers and has been selected for the prestigious Galien Prize for the best therapeutic innovation.
During his international career, he has worked with highly renowned scientists: Juleen Zierath, Bente Pedersen and Philippe Halban.
Chief Executive Officer
Anastasia GRABARZ
She graduated her PhD with honors from the prestigious Paris Saclay University & holds a business degree from Strasbourg University. She worked for 8 years in research before joining Sanofi and accompanied deep tech startups at the local French Tech.
In 2019 she joined the European Diabetes Study Center as Head of Innovation and co-founded ILONOV in 2020.
Chief Medical Officer
Prof. Michel PINGET
Diabetologist, Emeritus Professor of the Strasbourg University, President and Executive Director of the European Diabetes Study Center (CeeD), he has made this fight against diabetes his lifelong battle.
In 1989, he is the first to implant insulin pump in France, then he found the CeeD in 1991, a research and innovative center. Founder and operator of several CeeD spin-offs, he is a pioneer and a seasoned entrepreneur in the health field.
News
February 2026
BioCampus Investor Day
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV and Dr. Marie-Charlotte LECHNER, preclinical operations manager are pleased to announce their participation to the BioCampus Investor Day that will take place on the 18th of February 2026 in Basel, Switzerland.
December 2025
Biofit 2025
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV and Dr. Marie-Charlotte LECHNER, preclinical operations manager are pleased to announce their participation to Biofit that will take place from the 2nd of December to the 3rd of December 2025 in Strasbourg, France. Do not hesitate to make a stop at the Booth F39.
November 2025
Trinational Healthtech Days 2025 Edition 6
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV and Dr. Marie-Charlotte LECHNER, preclinical operations manager are pleased to announce their participation to the Trinational Healthtech Days that will take place from the 13th of November to the 14th of November 2025 in Basel, Switzerland.
October 2025
Joslin Diabetes Symposium 2025
Dr. Karim BOUZAKRI, President of Ilonov and Ahmad RIDA, R&D engineer are pleased to announce their participation to the Joslin Diabetes Symposium that will take place on 7-9th of October 2025 in Boston, USA.
September 2025
EASD Annual Meeting 2025
Dr. Karim BOUZAKRI, President of Ilonov is pleased to announce his participation to the EASD Annual Meeting that will take place on 15-19th of September 2025 in Vienna, Austria.
September 2025
Festival of Biologics 2025
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV and Dr. Marie-Charlotte LECHNER, preclinical operations manager are pleased to announce their participation to the Festival of Biologics that will take place from the 30th of September to the 2nd of October 2025 in Basel, Switzerland.
May 2025
Se développer, s'implanter & innover en Suisse
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV and Dr. Marie-Charlotte LECHNER, preclinical operations manager are pleased to announce their participation to the "Se développer, s'implanter & Innover en Suisse" that will take place on the 22nd of May 2025 in Strasbourg, France. Dr. Grabarz will participate to the round table : "Ecosystème Innovation et Environnement des Affaires en Suisse".
May 2025
Bio€quity
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV is pleased to announce her participation to the Bio€quity that will take place on the 12h - 14th of May 2025 in Bruges, Belgium.
May 2025
Swiss Biotech Days
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV is pleased to announce her participation to the Swiss Biotech Days that will take place on the 5h - 6th of May 2025 in Basel, Switzerland.
13 March 2025
Ilonov joins Baselaunch portfolio & signs a research collaboration agreement with leading pharma
Strasbourg, France & Basel, Switzerland – March 13, 2025
Ilonov, the preclinical-stage biotech company developing treatments for diabetes, announces today joining Baselaunch portfolio. The proceeds will allow the advancement of Ilonov’s lead selection program and will prepare a solid ground for the next financing round.
Ilonov’s unique research approach is based on the discovery by Dr Karim Bouzakri, Ilonov’s co-founder, of a myokine secreted by human muscle following exercise. The discovery of novel targets involved in the muscle-pancreas crosstalk allows Ilonov to develop a pipeline of first-in-class therapeutics, which maintain pancreatic islet function in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic models. Ilonov has recently entered into a research collaboration agreement with a leading pharmaceutical partner to further explore myokine biology.
“ We are thrilled to capitalize on the experience and excellent track record of Baselaunch’s team and their network of experts. Karim’s outstanding research paves the way for new scientific paths to satisfy the unmet need for patients with diabetes. ” said Anastasia Grabarz.
“ We are very excited to welcome Ilonov to our portfolio. Their innovative approach to treating metabolic diseases holds great promise. We look forward to supporting their growth and success as they build their pipeline. ” Stephan Emmerth, Director of Business Development & Operations, BaseLaunch
About BaseLaunch
BaseLaunch partners with scientists and entrepreneurs to help launch and grow exceptional biotech ventures developing cutting-edge therapeutics. To achieve this, they collaborate closely with key players from the biotech sector, leading pharmaceutical companies, and venture funds. Since supporting our first ventures in early 2018, ten of their portfolio companies have, in total, raised over $800 million in financing from European and US Venture funds. Additional companies raised seed financings, several collaborations have been initiated and one company has been sold.
About Ilonov
Ilonov is a spin-off of the Centre européen d’étude du Diabète (European center for diabetes Studies) in Strasbourg (FR), founded by Dr Bouzakri, Prof. Pinget and Dr Grabarz and recently incorporated in Basel with offices at the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area in Allschwil (CH). Ilonov is a preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing first-in-class biotherapies against diabetes, harvesting the breakthrough potential of the human muscle secretome to regulate metabolism, a novel and unexplored approach. Ilonov’s asset preserves & restores pancreatic beta cell function in in vivo diabetic models by acting on newly discovered targets. Please visit our website : www.ilonov-diabetes.com
Contact:
Anastasia Grabarz
+33 3 90 20 12 12
October 2024
Festival of Biologics
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV, and Dr. Marie-Charlotte LECHNER, preclinical operations manager of ILONOV, are pleased to announce their participation to the Festival of Biologics that will take place on the 15th - 17th of October 2024 in Basel, Switzerland.
May 2024
Bio€quity Europe
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV, is pleased to announce her participation to the 24th Bio€quity Europe that will take place on the 12th - 14th of May 2024 in San Sebastian, Spain.
April 2024
INNODIA networking meeting
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV, and Dr. Karim BOUZAKRI, President & CSO, are pleased to participate to the INNODIA networking event that will take place on the 11th - 12th of April 2024 in Leuven, Belgium. This event will be a great opportunity for Ilonov to talk in person with all INNODIA stakeholders specialized in Type 1 Diabetes (i.e. scientists, physicians, clinical study coordinators/nurses, care givers).
January 2024
PIA4 R&D project financial support
Strasbourg, January 22, 2023 – Ilonov announces the launch of a research and development program supported by le « Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir, France 2030, La Région Grand-Est and bpi ». The 18 -month program, selected in the context of the « Projets d’Innovation en Région Grand Est » call for projects, is based on the revolutionary potential of ILV-001, a myokine secreted by the muscles able of restoring metabolic balance by mimicking exercices.
Due to promising preliminary results on neurocognitive disorders on rats, Ilonov is exited to broaden the scope of application of its biologic LV001 by targeting neurodegenerative diseases.
November 2023
Trinational Healthtech Days
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ & Dr. Marie-Charlotte LECHNER, CEO & preclinical operations manager of ILONOV respectively, will participate to the Trinational Healthtech Days on November 23rd-24th in Strasbourg.
October 2023
International Pancreas & Islet Transplant Association Congress
Dr. Karim BOUZAKRI, President of ILONOV, will give a talk on advances in cell therapies and islet transplantation for Type 1 diabetes, on October 29 from 10:00 to 11.30:00 am (UTC−7). It will take place at the HILTON San Diego Bayfront in San Francisco, in the Indigo A area. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV, will also be present there.
October 2023
Soft Landing NGBH X Business France
ILONOV is pleased to participate to the 2023 Soft Landing Program co-organized by Business France & Neighborhood that will take place on the 15th - 22nd of October 2023 In Boston and Montreal. This support program includes : workshops with the FDA, B2B meetings, on-site visits and networking events.
October 2023
Festival of Biologics
Dr. Marie-Charlotte LECHNER, preclinical operations manager of ILONOV, is pleased to announce her participation to the Festival of Biologics that will take place on the 10th - 11th of October 2023 at the Messe Basel. ILONOV will have a booth at the startup corner at the place S6.
September 2023
23rd Annual Biotech in Europe Forum
Dr. Anastasia GRABARZ, CEO of ILONOV, is pleased to announce her participation to the 23rd Annual Biotech in Europe Forum (#Sachs_BEF) that will take place on the 20th - 21st of September 2023 at the Mövenpick Hotel Basel. The event will be part of the Sachs Autumn Life Sciences Week, which will also incorporate the 10th Annual HealthTech Investment Forum.
January 2023
2023 Neighborhood Program from Voisin Consulting
ILONOV is pround to joint the 2023 Neighborhood acceleration program from Voisin Consulting Life Sciences based in Paris. This program offers tailored in-residence mentoring, coaching and global access to health tech entrepreneurs.
September 2022
Talk of Dr Bouzakri at the Joslin Diabetes Center
Dr. Karim Bouzakri, President and CSO of ILONOV, will give a talk on advances in cell therapies for Type 1 diabetes, hosted by Prof. Rohit Kulkarni on September 29 from 2:00 to 3:00 pm. It will take place at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, the world's leading diabetes care and research center.
July 2022
Prix Galien France Award
The official selection of the 2022 Prix Galien France Award, a prestigious award for therapeutic innovation in health, has been shared! Dr Karim Bouzakri, Chief Scientific Officer & President of ILONOV, is selected in the "Research" category for his work on the therapeutic field of muscle secretome in order to achieve a first curative treatment for diabetes, thanks to their breakthrough potential in the maintenance of pancreatic β-cell function and metabolic balance.
June 2022
NEXT Biotech Booster program
ILONOV has been selected by the prestigious jury of the NEXT Biotech Booster program by Business France to take part in their US/Canada road show in the fall of 2022, along with 5 other biotech companies! The program selected French startups with the most promising innovations in biotechnology that meet the needs of the transatlantic market.
September 2021
I-Lab 2021
ILONOV is one of the laureates of the prestigious i-Lab 2021 innovation competition for early stage companies.
March 2021
Challenges magazine
ILONOV is part of the "100 start-ups to invest in in 2021" selection by Challenges magazine.
January 2021
DeepTech labelling
ILONOV has obtained pre-seed funding from BpiFrance following the DeepTech labelling of their research program on myokines in T2D (Bourse French Tech Emergence).
