CNRS innovation medal | Alain Wagner

Team BFC

Alain Wagner (BFC team) is the recipient of the CNRS Innovation Medal 2025. Congratulations Alain!

 

Press release

 

Alain Wagner, winner of the CNRS Innovation Medal 2025

On Wednesday, December 17, 2025, in Paris, Antoine Petit, President and CEO of the CNRS, presented the CNRS Innovation Medals for 2025. Alain Wagner, CNRS Research Director in Strasbourg, was among the four recipients. This award recognizes scientists whose research generates innovations that address societal challenges in the technological, economic, therapeutic, and social spheres.

 

# Alain Wagner: Chemistry in the service of life

Alain Wagner, CNRS Research Director at the Synthetic and Therapeutic Chemo-biology Laboratory in Strasbourg, develops new approaches to better understand and modify biological systems.

With the "Bio-functional Chemistry" team, which he co-leads, he has been particularly interested since 2010 in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), vectors that can destroy cancer cells and increase patients' life expectancy.

To transfer these research results to industry, Alain Wagner co-founded Syndivia in 2014, a biotechnology start-up that develops better-tolerated ADCs with fewer side effects. He also founded the start-up NovAliX in 2002, specializing in the discovery of new drugs, and Phytodia in 2007, which develops plant-based ingredients for dietary supplements and cosmetics. More recently, he co-founded MicroOmix, a startup that analyzes the antibodies secreted by each cell. This could pave the way for the development of new antibody-based therapies. 

 

Learn more: 

  • Alain Wagner : La chimie au service du vivant | Chimie thérapeutique

Video | CNRS Images

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feKVC1bQnto

  • [De la découverte à l’innovation] Contre le cancer, des traitements ciblés en ligne de mire 

Article | Journal du CNRS 

https://lejournal.cnrs.fr/nos-blogs/de-la-decouverte-a-linnovation/contre-le-cancer-des-traitements-cibles-en-ligne-de-mire  

 

# The CNRS Innovation Medal

The 2025 awards recognize linguist Alda Mari, biologist Aziz Moqrich, physicist Pascale Senellart, and chemist Alain Wagner.

The careers of the four recipients of the 2025 CNRS Innovation Medal illustrate the excellence and diversity of research conducted at the CNRS and the crucial role that fundamental research plays in the development of disruptive technologies.

“We are delighted to award the 2025 Innovation Medal to four exceptional CNRS scientists who are also entrepreneurs. In fields as varied as chemistry, biology, quantum mechanics, and semantics, they have brilliantly transformed their discoveries into concrete innovations that benefit society. Their journey inspires our entire community and illustrates how the application and transfer of research to the socio-economic world can be a true driver of progress. This distinction recognizes both their commitment and their achievements,” says Mehdi Gmar, Deputy Director General for Innovation at the CNRS.

Press contact:

Communication department : communication@alsace.cnrs.fr | 06 20 55 73 81

Alain Wagner, winner of the CNRS Innovation Medal 2025
Alain Wagner and his collaborators
Alain Wagner (left), winner of the CNRS Innovation Medal 2025, and collaborators: Guilhem Chaubet, co-director of the Biofunctional Chemistry team at the Synthetic & Therapeutic Chemo-biology Laboratory (CBST), Héloïse Cahuzac, researcher specializing in the development of antibody-drug conjugates, and Ketty Pernod from the company Microomix.
Alain Wagner observes a surfactant synthesis reaction
Alain Wagner observes a step in the synthesis of a surfactant carried out by Shiyun Chen, a doctoral student in the Biofunctional Chemistry team at the Synthetic Chemo-biology & Therapeutics Laboratory (CBST). This type of molecule is used in a detection technique developed within the team to stabilize microdroplets of water, which serve as tiny test tubes, each containing a single cell. These test tubes incorporate a detection system that allows for the individual analysis of millions of cells by measuring, in real time, the biomarkers they release into their environment. This device can be implemented using standard laboratory equipment or, for increased precision, via a microfluidic system. Surfactants play a central role: they stabilize the water-oil emulsions and enable chemical analysis on the surface of the droplets. The current objective is to optimize their efficiency and simplify their synthesis to make them compatible with large-scale production.
Alain Wagner observes the preparation of a microscope slide intended for the analysis of immune cell secretion
Alain Wagner (left) observes the preparation of a microscope slide for analyzing immune cell secretion, carried out by Nicolas Schall, an engineer on the team. In this study dedicated to analyzing the immune response using single-cell manipulation technologies developed within the team, scientists measure biomarkers and antibodies secreted by immune cells after their activation by an antigen. The goal is to accurately quantify the degree of immune system activation in order to assess the patient's health status. Ultimately, the laboratory aims to provide a research and diagnostic tool for autoimmune diseases, immuno-oncology, and new vaccine approaches. This research relies on a detection system designed by the team. Unlike conventional techniques that primarily establish a "cell identity card," this system allows for the real-time measurement of the molecules secreted and the signals emitted by the cell.
Alain Wagner observes the viability of immune cells
Alain Wagner (background) and Nicolas Schall, an engineer, observe the viability of immune cells encapsulated in microfluidic droplets. In this study dedicated to analyzing the immune response using unique cell manipulation technologies developed within the team, the scientists measure the biomarkers and antibodies secreted by immune cells after their activation by an antigen. The goal is to accurately quantify the degree of immune system activation in order to assess the patient's health status. Ultimately, the laboratory aims to provide a research and diagnostic tool for autoimmune diseases, immuno-oncology, and new vaccine approaches. This research relies on a detection system designed by the team. Unlike conventional techniques that primarily establish a "cell identity card," this system allows for the real-time measurement of the molecules the cell secretes and the signals it emits.
Alain Wagner observes a high-throughput screening of cells
Alain Wagner observes the high-throughput screening of antibody-secreting cells performed by Ketty Pernod of Microomix. The microfluidic system used makes it possible to identify functional antibodies, usable in pharmaceuticals and for new immunotherapies, from among several million variants. It relies on a detection system developed by the Biofunctional Chemistry team, where microdroplets of water serve as tiny test tubes, each containing a cell. If the target antibody is secreted by the cell, a fluorescent antigen binds to it, modifying the droplet's fluorescence. This signal allows for the efficient and rapid isolation of droplets containing the variants of interest, before their characterization by further analyses. The goal is to commercialize a miniaturized system and kits enabling the functional screening of all antibody formats against all types of antigens usable in research and the pharmaceutical industry.
Alain Wagner during the high-throughput screening of antibody-secreting cells
Alain Wagner observes the high-throughput screening of antibody-secreting cells performed by Ketty Pernod of Microomix. The microfluidic system used makes it possible to identify functional antibodies, usable in pharmaceuticals and for new immunotherapies, from among several million variants. It relies on a detection system developed by the team, where microdroplets of water serve as tiny test tubes, each containing a cell. If the target antibody is secreted by the cell, a fluorescent antigen binds to it, modifying the droplet's fluorescence. This signal allows for the efficient and rapid isolation of droplets containing the variants of interest, before their characterization by further analyses. The goal is to commercialize a miniaturized system and kits enabling the functional screening of all antibody formats against all types of antigens usable in research and the pharmaceutical industry.
Alain Wagner observes the synthesis of an antibody-drug conjugate
Alain Wagner observes the synthesis of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) carried out by Salomé Soltner, a doctoral student in the team. Soltner attaches a toxic molecule capable of destroying cancer cells to an antibody, in order to produce an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) used in targeted cancer therapies. The toxic molecules currently used in ADC treatments can cause significant side effects, sometimes leading patients to discontinue their treatment. To make these therapies better tolerated, the team is developing molecules whose action finely differentiates between healthy and cancerous tissues. In this context, Guilhem Chaubet, co-director of the team, has developed a multicomponent synthesis method that allows the active molecule to be formed in a single step from stable and non-toxic compounds, which are then directly assembled onto the antibody.
Innovation medal
Created in 2011, the innovation medal honors women and men whose exceptional research has led to a significant innovation in technological, therapeutic or social fields, promoting French scientific research.