Éric BironPh.D.

Dr. Eric Biron, PhD, is a Regular Researcher at the CHU de Québec Research Center and Full Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Laval University. Recognized for his contributions in peptide chemistry, combinatorial chemistry and antimicrobial peptides, Dr. Biron is particularly interested in the use of peptidomimetic macrocycles and heterocycles in medicinal chemistry. His research focuses on the discovery and development of novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of infectious diseases and cancers.

Discovery and development of new antibacterial agents

The alarming spread of antibiotic resistance has become a major problem in the treatment of bacterial infections. In this context, Dr. Biron is particularly interested in bacteriocins, a family of low molecular weight proteins produced by several bacteria, with strong antimicrobial activity. As they exhibit inhibitory activities against a large number of clinically important pathogenic bacteria, bacteriocins are increasingly considered as a promising substitute to antibiotics.

Based on their enormous potential in the pharmaceutical and medical areas, Dr. Biron’s laboratory is developing novel synthetic approaches to produce bacteriocins, and uses peptidomimetic strategies to optimize their pharmacological properties, improve their pharmacokinetic profile, and modify their spectrum of activity.

Development of new anti-cancer agents

Despite the progress made in various therapeutic approaches, the effectiveness of main anti-cancer therapies has reached a critical plateau in the treatment of several cancers. As a result, the demand for innovative and effective compounds with new modes of action is growing rapidly. In this context, Dr. Biron’s laboratory uses combinatorial chemistry to prepare libraries with high molecular diversity and perform target-based or phenotypic screenings to discover promising anti-cancer molecules.

In another approach, Dr. Biron is interested in the addiction of cancer cells to some multifunctional proteins that also play an important role in the resistance to treatment. In this case, Dr. Biron’s laboratory aims to develop functional inhibitors of these proteins through rational design, and peptidomimetic approaches.