Global non-profit organisation DEBRA Research and Queen Mary University of London have entered into a partnership aimed at advancing drug development for epidermolysis bullosa (EB).
The research collaboration will see DEBRA support Queen Mary in establishing the infrastructure to provide capabilities for testing of drug candidates in relevant preclinical models.
Approximately 500,000 people worldwide are affected by EB, a group of rare and painful genetic skin conditions that causes the skin to become extremely fragile, and blister and tear very easily.
The disorders currently have no cure, and treatments are limited to relieving symptoms and preventing complications, such as infection developing.
Christoph Coch, managing director at DEBRA Research, said: “Access to high-quality preclinical models remains one of the major bottlenecks in EB drug development.
“Via our partnership we hope to accelerate the path to effective therapies that can transform the lives of people living with EB.”
The agreement has been formalised with Emanuel Rognoni and Matthew Caley’s teams, based at the Centre for Cell Biology and Cutaneous Research at Queen Mary’s Blizard Institute
Both research groups have significant experience in regenerative approaches and cellular mechanisms relevant to skin disorders. Rognoni’s team is evaluating how different fibroblast types contribute to processes such as healing, ageing and disease, while Caley’s group is looking at the basement membrane zone and its role in wound healing, ageing, cancer and EB.
Rognoni said: “This collaboration allows us to establish the infrastructure needed to offer our preclinical expertise on rare skin diseases to the EB research community, and to empower our future collaborators to develop new therapeutic strategies.”
Sharing a similar sentiment, Caley added: “Working with DEBRA Research gives us a chance to align our scientific work with a translational mission. This collaboration is an important opportunity to advance EB research and drive real impact.”
The announcement comes less than three months after DEBRA partnered with Dermaliq Therapeutics to advance drug delivery into the skin for EB.
The non-exclusive collaboration will initially focus on enhancing wound-healing and anti-itch therapies, as well as developing prophylactic therapies for EB patients.
The non-profit also partnered with LEO Pharma in February to accelerate the development of treatments for EB.