Development and Identification of Novel Evaluation Systems and Biomarkers for Gene Therapy in Neurodegenerative Diseases and Immunology
Opportunity types being sought:
Daiichi Sankyo, a global pharmaceutical company, is seeking evaluation systems and biomarkers suitable for non-clinical studies in the fields of neurodegenerative diseases (ALS, AD) with high translational potential for clinical application. In the immunology domain, their interest is specifically limited to systems for accurately predicting human immunogenicity caused by intracellularly expressed proteins from gene therapy.
Approaches of Interest:
- Evaluation systems and biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases
- In vitro and in vivo evaluation models with human translatability that replicate multiple aspects, such as loss of function and gain of toxic function, of TDP-43 proteinopathy in ALS alone
- Potential biomarkers for ALS that reflect either gain-of-function (GoF) or loss-of-function (LoF) mechanisms of TDP-43, or both, identified through analyses of patient-derived samples (e.g., STMN2, UNC13A mis-splicing)
- Potential biomarkers for AD that predict disease progression rate after onset, identified through analyses of patient-derived samples
- Systems for accurately predicting human immunogenicity caused by intracellularly expressed proteins from gene therapy
- Excluding secreted proteins circulating in blood
- In silico models are out of scope
Developmental Stages of Interest:
- All stages of research are of interest for evaluations systems and biomarkers providing there is proof-of-concept
Submission Information
Submission of one-page, 200–300-word briefs is encouraged, along with any optional supplementary information e.g. relevant publications. Our client is also open to novel research proposals which can be outlined using this submission form. In submitting to this campaign, you confirm that your submission contains only non-confidential information.
Opportunity for Collaboration
Our client is open to a range of collaboration opportunities, with the most appropriate outcome being decided on a case-by-case basis. Example outcomes include project/PhD funding and research collaborations.