Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by an abnormal and chronic immune response that inflames different parts of the body. Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease or psoriasis are some examples of these conditions. The University of Barcelona (UB) has licensed innovative technology to IMIDomics Inc., a patient-focused drug discovery company, to advance research aimed at understanding and treating these types of disorders. This is a technological advance resulting from research developed in recent years by researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the UB, Ana Angulo and Pablo Engel, leader of the project.
Under this agreement, IMIDomics will take advantage of the UB’s technology and its experience in areas such as the discovery of new molecules in different research projects aimed at developing innovative therapeutic approaches. The license agreement includes the exclusive intellectual property of the technology, and the specific patents and proprietary know-how related to this innovation.
«With this partnership we aim to discover valuable ideas and solutions that can make a significant difference in patients’ lives. All of us at the UB are delighted to collaborate with IMIDomics to advance the frontiers of IMID research,” highlights Professor Pablo Engel.
For his part, H. Daniel Pérez, Director of Development at IMIDomics, also expressed his “enthusiasm” for this collaboration that marks “a significant milestone for IMIDomics, as we continue our relentless research into new therapies for IMIDomics. We believe that working closely with the UB will help us accelerate our research and ultimately benefit patients suffering from IMIDs,” he adds.
Promotion of new therapeutic targets
IMIDomics is a company focused on the identification of therapeutic targets against these types of diseases through the company’s patented Clinical Discovery Engine™, a multidimensional, integrated and data-driven platform to discover the underlying mechanisms of IMIDs. This license and collaboration with the UB will benefit the company’s ongoing scientific discoveries and the development of IMIDomics’ pharmaceutical targets IMB-1003 and IMB-1004 for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Serious illnesses without care
IMIDs are a group of serious diseases that affect millions of people around the world and currently have no successful treatments. Despite their differences, including pathologies such as inflammatory bowel disease, atopic dermatitis, allergies or other diseases, they share genetic, clinical and environmental factors and similar inflammatory mechanisms. Furthermore, these are debilitating and painful conditions for patients and, at present, there is no cure, and in many cases there are no successful treatments to address the symptoms.
