CENTRE HOSPITALIER UNIVERSITAIRE DE NANTES

Their core work

CHU de Nantes is a major French university hospital that combines patient care with translational clinical research, particularly in advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), organ transplantation, and regenerative medicine. They run and participate in multi-center clinical trials — from MSC-based disc regeneration (RESPINE) to bone reconstruction with 3D-printed biomaterials (MAXIBONE) — bridging the gap between laboratory discoveries and bedside application. Their most significant recent commitment is leading HAP2, a large-scale project tackling hospital-acquired pneumonia through host-targeted immunotherapy approaches including interleukin-12 and interferon gamma trials.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015–2018, CHU de Nantes focused on classical clinical trials in cardiovascular disease (BETA3_LVH), musculoskeletal regeneration with stem cells (RESPINE, MAXIBONE), and neonatal monitoring (Digi-NewB). From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward immunology and advanced therapies — regulatory T cell engineering with CRISPR/Cas9 (RESHAPE), transplant rejection precision diagnostics (EU-TRAIN), and host-directed immunotherapy for nosocomial infections (HAP2). The trajectory shows a hospital moving from participating in broad clinical trials to building deep expertise in immune modulation and personalized immunotherapy.

CHU de Nantes is building toward becoming a clinical hub for immune-targeted therapies, combining regulatory T cell engineering, transplant immunology, and anti-infection immunotherapy under one roof.

How they like to work

CHU de Nantes primarily joins consortia as a clinical partner (5 of 8 roles), contributing patient cohorts, clinical trial infrastructure, and translational expertise. They coordinated only once (HAP2), but that project carried by far their largest budget (EUR 4.4M), suggesting they lead when the topic aligns with a core institutional strength. With 82 unique partners across 16 countries, they are well-networked and open to diverse European collaborations rather than locked into a small circle.

They have collaborated with 82 distinct partners across 16 countries, indicating broad European reach. As a French university hospital, they are well-connected within Western European clinical research networks, particularly in immunology and transplantation.

What sets them apart

CHU de Nantes offers something rare: a large university hospital with simultaneous expertise in regulatory T cell therapy (RESHAPE), transplant immunology (EU-TRAIN), and infectious disease immunotherapy (HAP2). This convergence of immune-focused clinical programs means they can contribute patient access, biobanking, and trial management across multiple immune-related indications. For consortium builders, they bring the clinical translation muscle that lab-based partners typically lack — they are where experimental therapies meet real patients.

Highlights from their portfolio

• HAP2
  Their only coordinated project and by far the largest (EUR 4.4M), targeting hospital-acquired pneumonia with host-directed immunotherapy — a topic of growing urgency post-COVID.
• RESHAPE
  Involves next-generation regulatory T cell engineering using CRISPR/Cas9 and CAR-Treg technology, placing CHU de Nantes at the frontier of cell therapy manufacturing and first-in-human trials.
• EU-TRAIN
  A precision medicine approach to kidney transplant rejection using multi-dimensional biomarker analysis and integrative epidemiology — directly applicable to personalized patient management.