TheraPanacea: Finalist for INPI's Research Award

We’re proud to announce that TheraPanacea has been selected as a finalist for the INPI Research Partnership Award. A recognition that highlights our strong commitment to scientific excellence, collaboration, and innovation in healthcare.

Our CEO Nikos Paragios has been invited by INPI France to answer a couple of questions!

Can you introduce yourself in a few words?

Nikos Paragios: Founded in 2017 as a spin-off from CentraleSupélec, TheraPanacea is a company specialized in developing AI-based software to optimize radiotherapy treatments. In partnership with leading international hospitals, we design solutions that bring science closer to clinical practice, help disseminate best practices, and promote precision medicine.

Our team brings together around 75 researchers, engineers, clinicians, and data scientists. Our work combines computer science, applied mathematics, medical physics, and artificial intelligence to improve cancer care.
I am also a Distinguished Professor in Applied Mathematics at CentraleSupélec, part of Université Paris-Saclay.

What makes your company innovative? What specific needs do your solutions address?

N.P.: Our solutions are based on AI algorithms and medical data processing that enable faster, more consistent, and more personalized radiotherapy planning. Today, treatment preparation requires several hours of manual work and a high level of expertise. Our technologies automate these steps while maintaining submillimetric precision, ensuring optimal tumor irradiation and better protection of healthy tissues. We reduce inter-operator variability, improve therapeutic accuracy, and drive the emergence of true precision medicine in radio-oncology.

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Was intellectual property management a natural part of your journey? What role did the INPI play?

N.P.: From the very beginning, we leveraged academic patents (licensed from CentraleSupélec) and viewed intellectual property (IP) as a strategic pillar of our development. In digital health, value stems not only from scientific robustness but also from the protection of innovation. The INPI has supported us in defining our filing strategy, structuring our patent portfolio, and maximizing its value.

This approach helped secure our AI technologies, enable their clinical use, and strengthen our scientific and industrial credibility,  particularly in the context of international collaborations.

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Was intellectual property management a natural part of your journey? What role did the INPI play? Today, 55% of your revenue comes from 25 countries and you are expanding in Japan & Brazil. How do you select countries and what strategy guides your international growth? What role does IP play in this expansion?

N.P.: We focus on countries where medical needs are high and where AI can help address shortages in specialized human resources. Japan combines world-class medical expertise with a strong drive for modernization. Brazil, on the other hand, is a fast-growing country facing a shortage of qualified professionals despite major investments in infrastructure. Our strategy relies on scientific partnerships and local regulatory adaptation. Intellectual property plays a key role – it protects our algorithms, secures knowledge transfer, and facilitates clinical adoption within these healthcare ecosystems.

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What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an entrepreneur?

N.P.: The greatest challenge was turning academic research results into validated, clinically usable medical solutions. This required a full shift towards productization while meeting stringent requirements: regulatory compliance, multicenter validation [1], and clinical adoption. Convincing the medical community to change established practices takes time, rigor, and strong scientific evidence. This journey taught us how to combine scientific excellence — in applied mathematics and AI — with entrepreneurial pragmatism and a deep understanding of clinical needs.

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What are the next projects for TheraPanacea?

N.P.: We aim to extend our solutions to other stages of the oncology care pathway — from imaging-based diagnosis to tumor characterization and longitudinal patient monitoring. Our goal is to develop AI-powered decision support tools that can adjust treatments in real time and promote patient-centered precision medicine. We are also developing a dedicated offering for pharmaceutical companies, helping optimize patient selection [2] and accelerate clinical trial efficiency.

By 2030, we aim to be present in 1,000 hospitals worldwide, including half of the world’s 50 leading oncology centers.

[1] This refers to the validation of a clinical trial conducted simultaneously across multiple hospitals or clinics.

[2] A clinical trial is always carried out on a sample of individuals selected from a broader population.

Access INPI’s Interview

TheraPanacea INPI Research Award