UCB and Baylor College of Medicine enter neurodegeneration alliance
They will collaborate to discover transformational therapies for people with neurodegenerative disease
Belgian biopharmaceutical firm UCB has entered into a research agreement with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, US that aims to discover new therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative disease.
Led by Professor Huda Zoghbi, a professor in the Departments of Paediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, Neurology and Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (NRI) at Texas Children's Hospital, the research programme will focus on the discovery of medicines targeting pathways with a high level of genetic and human validation.
Professor Zoghbi and her collaborators have world leading capabilities in using functional genetics in model organisms to identify therapeutic points of intervention for new medicines.
Ismail Kola, Executive Vice President, UCB & President, New Medicines, UCB said: 'We cannot accelerate discovery of transformational medicines and create value for patients if we work alone. That is why we have been creating super networks with high quality scientific partners, combining insights from patients with deep understanding of disease mechanisms.
'This strategic research alliance brings together Huda Zoghbi’s world class research with our high quality R&D teams to discover medicines based on genetically validated targets that could transform the lives of people living with severe neurodegenerative disease.'