UniQuest, the tech transfer office (TTO) of Queensland University (QU), and Janssen Cilag, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson, have entered into a research and development agreement with option to licence on small molecule modulator research.
QU will carry out a three-year drug discovery program to identify and utilise modulators in collaboration with Janssen’s immunology staff, with the company picking up exclusive rights to commercialise any output. The resulting research could lead to treatments for ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease. Collectively, these conditions affect 2-3% of the world’s population.
Dean Moss, UniQuest’s CEO, said: “We are delighted with this small molecule drug discovery collaboration with Janssen. UQ is proud of its research excellence and recognizes the importance of collaborations with industry to translate into future medicines for patients. This is the third major R&D collaboration between UQ/UniQuest and Janssen and follows agreements with the Dendright technology for rheumatoid arthritis and the spider venom project to identify peptides as potential treatments for pain. We look forward to further opportunities to collaborate together.”
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