Our Areas of Interest

OUR AREAS OF INTEREST

	Respiratory and Immunology

Arthritis and Immune-Based Diseases
Areas of Interest:

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) with a strong preference for:

Mechanisms targeting clinically proven pathways

Mechanisms effective in patients with an inadequate response to anti-TNFα therapies

Th17 pathway modulators

Cartilage / joint imaging technologies

Biomarkers that can be used for patient segmentation, such as TNF response/non-response

Human tissue-based validation methodologies for immune diseases

Novel genetic targets for all diseases that are based on a strong link to a relevant human phenotype

Disease-modifying drugs and differentiated biologics for RA, psoriasis, SLE, IBD, PsA, or gout that have achieved POC in Phase II trials

Disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs) with clinical POC and a clearly defined path to registration
Not Interested in:

Drugs whose primary clinical indication is the prevention of graft rejection
Asthma / COPD / Rhinitis
Areas of Interest:

Oral, inhaled, or injectable agents for asthma

Anti-inflammatory agents with differentiated mechanisms

Anti-inflammatory and bronchodilator agents, additive or differentiated from existing classes

Anti-inflammatory agents that are effective in glucocorticoid-resistant asthma

Selective glucocorticoid receptor modulators with clinical POC

Oral, inhaled, or injectable agents for COPD with clinical POC or compelling biological rationale

Including combination therapies

Disease-modifying compounds for rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and allergy with clinical POC

Technologies

Experimental medicine technologies that can assess virally driven exacerbation

Biomarkers that segment the patient population and could be used to develop personalized medicines for asthma

Predictive animal models of asthma pathophysiology

Human lung cell / tissue-based systems for investigating new therapeutic mechanisms

Inhaled technologies / formulations that provide improved drug delivery / compliance / patient acceptance
Not Interested in:

Acute lung injury

Antioxidants (ie, direct scavengers)

Adenosine antagonists(A₁, A₂, and A₃)

Histamine antagonists (H₁, H₂)

Leukotriene-receptor antagonists

VLA4 antagonists
Urology
Areas of Interest:

Novel therapies for overactive bladder (OAB) (human POC or greater)

Novel therapies for stress urinary incontinence (Phase I or greater)

Novel therapies for BPH (human POC or greater)

Biomarkers

Surrogate biomarkers of bladder dysfunction

Imaging approaches for indices of bladder function, including control of bladder function

Diagnostics to improve specificity of diagnosing OAB from stress incontinence

Diagnostics to predict response or nonresponse to therapy including anticholinergics or other mechanisms of action
Not Interested in:

Anticholinergics for OAB

5α reductase inhibitors for BPH

Alpha-1 adrenergic blockers for BPH