The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and the European biotech company Galapagos NV, based in Belgium, have established a scientific collaboration to identify and validate a series of senolytic drug targets with potential for use in tissue repair across multiple organs. The collaboration is based on the results of a large-scale analysis of genes that potentially play a role in fibrosis, inflammation, and the ageing process.

Results from an initial analysis, performed by the Cellular Plasticity and Disease lab at IRB Barcelona, showed that these genes may participate in senescence, a central hallmark of ageing and multiple degenerative diseases. The collaboration will focus on additional identification and validation of the most interesting candidates based on functional classification, mechanism of action and pharmacological characteristics. Upon achievement of defined research results, Galapagos has the option to license the targets for further drug discovery, development and commercialisation.

Dr. Manuel Serrano said of the collaboration, "Turning the work done by the laboratory into practical advances that can benefit society is our raison d'être. Galapagos is a leading biotech company that specialises in drug discovery and development of small molecules in the fields of inflammation and fibrosis and we are delighted to have formed this collaboration with them to further our investigations.”

This collaboration with the biotechnology industry is strategic for IRB Barcelona and provides great value by helping to develop laboratory discoveries into potential therapeutics. The agreement between IRB Barcelona and Galapagos has an initial duration of one year (extendable) and includes the conditions of future collaboration and exploitation of the results.

The Cellular Plasticity and Disease lab, led by the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) researcher Dr. Manuel Serrano, has received strategic support from “la Caixa” Foundation for 5 years. The funds awarded by “la Caixa” Foundation under the CaixaResearch Programme have contributed to the results that are the basis of this collaboration. Dr. Marta Kovatcheva, the postdoctoral fellow leading this project has a fellowship from the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC).

About IRB Barcelona

Created in 2005 by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia) and University of Barcelona, IRB Barcelona is a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence, a seal that was awarded in 2011. The institute is devoted to conducting research of excellence in biomedicine and to transferring results to clinical practice, thus improving people’s quality of life, while simultaneously promoting the training of outstanding researchers, technology transfer, and public communication of science. Its 28 laboratories and eight core facilities address basic questions in biology and are orientated to diseases such as cancer, metastasis, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and rare conditions. IRB Barcelona is an international centre that hosts 400 employees and more than 30 nationalities. It is located in the Barcelona Science Park. IRB Barcelona is a CERCA center, and a member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).

Subscribe to Directory
Write an Article

Recent News

El diagnóstico genético neonatal mejor...

Un estudio con datos de los últimos 35 años, ind...

Más de 1.500 cambios epigenéticos en e...

Un equipo de investigadores de la Universidad Juli...

Tuneable reverse photochromes in the sol...

A new technique allows the design of solid materia...

Highlight

Eosinófilos. ¿Qué significa tener val...

by Labo'Life

​En nuestro post hablamos sobre este interesante tipo de célula del...

Un estudio de INCLIVA muestra el efecto ...

by INCLIVA

Han desarrollado un estudio para evaluar la correlación entre el teji...

Photos Stream