A word from the CEO
“OT4B was created in 2017 at the initiative of the French Prader‑Willi community, in order to extend and enhance the pioneering academic research work conducted since 2007 by the team of Pr Maithé Tauber, who coordinates the National Prader-Willi Syndrome Reference Centre in Toulouse.
OT4B relies upon a committed and experienced team to advance knowledge and research into this rare and severe disease, for which therapeutic options are currently limited.
In close partnership with Toulouse University Hospital and the patient community, OT4B is working on a research programme to gain a better understanding of the role of oxytocin in Prader‑Willi Syndrome, with specific focus on the very early stages of the disease.
Our current focus is primarily Prader-Willi Syndrome, which forms the clinical and scientific starting point for our approach. We are also exploring, in a gradual and evidence-based manner, other neurodevelopmental disorders that exhibit similar physiopathological characteristics.
We continue to be guided in this process by a simple belief: to contribute, through research, in opening new possibilities for patients and their families”.
François Vuillet
* now the CRMR PRADORT – Rare Diseases Reference Centre for Prader-Willi Syndrome and other rare forms of obesity with eating disorders
Key figures
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2017
Creation of OT4B
Source : Intern
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1/15-30000
Incidence of Prader-Willi syndrome (approximately 6,500 births worldwide each year)
Source : Orphanet
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8
Studies in the ‘Oxytocin & PWS’ development program run by Toulouse University Hospital & OT4BSource : Intern
Our patient-centred focus
Our DNA
Since its creation, OT4B has placed patients and their families at the heart of its governance, strategy and commitments.
Prader-Willi syndrome in neonates
Problems with feeding, behaviour and social interaction in neonates and infants with Prader-Willi syndrome are particularly severe and can be life-threatening if not properly managed. There is no medical treatment currently available for this patient population.
Our approach
OT4B is conducting a research program focused on studying oxytocin in neonates and infants with Prader-Willi Syndrome, with a particular focus on the first developmental stages, followed by the progression of the disease during infancy.
This is a scientific approach aimed at exploring new ways of understanding the condition, where medical needs are still inadequately covered.
OXYTOCIN
Oxytocin is a molecule produced naturally in the brain by the hypothalamus, which acts as both a hormone and a neuromodulator.
In Prader-Willi Syndrome, several published scientific studies have described alterations in the oxytocinergic system. In particular, these studies report a reduction in the number of oxytocin-producing neurons in the hypothalamus as well as abnormalities in the maturation of the oxytocinergic system amongst patients with Prader-Willi syndrome and in several animal models used to study the disease (Swaab, 1995; Muscatelli, 2000; Schaller, 2010).
INS-2026-004-FREN – 06/2026