Oswaldo Cruz Foundation and Genzyme Corporation Form Collaboration To Advance New Drugs for Neglected Diseases

25-Jul-2007

The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and Genzyme Corp. announced that they have formed a research collaboration to advance new treatments for certain neglected diseases. The partners will focus initially on Chagas disease, a life-threatening infectious disease affecting millions of people in Latin America.

Fiocruz, a premier public institution chartered by the Brazilian Ministry of Health to promote health and social development, has expertise in biology, medicine, clinical treatment and the epidemiology of infectious disease.

Fiocruz and Genzyme will collaborate initially on two specific research programs. The first will focus on identifying novel biological targets within the parasite that causes Chagas disease and will include screening for potential compounds that affect these targets and which could be developed into drugs. The second program will test the effectiveness of using monoclonal antibodies to neutralize a protein that contributes to heart damage in Chagas disease, known as transforming growth factor-beta.

Under the partnership agreement, scientists from Fiocruz and Genzyme are expected to work in each other's laboratories from time to time. The collaboration includes an innovative approach to intellectual property rights, providing Fiocruz rights to commercial uses within the field of neglected disease on a royalty-free basis.

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Topic world Antibodies

Antibodies are specialized molecules of our immune system that can specifically recognize and neutralize pathogens or foreign substances. Antibody research in biotech and pharma has recognized this natural defense potential and is working intensively to make it therapeutically useful. From monoclonal antibodies used against cancer or autoimmune diseases to antibody-drug conjugates that specifically transport drugs to disease cells - the possibilities are enormous

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Topic world Antibodies

Topic world Antibodies

Antibodies are specialized molecules of our immune system that can specifically recognize and neutralize pathogens or foreign substances. Antibody research in biotech and pharma has recognized this natural defense potential and is working intensively to make it therapeutically useful. From monoclonal antibodies used against cancer or autoimmune diseases to antibody-drug conjugates that specifically transport drugs to disease cells - the possibilities are enormous