New collaboration with stem cell company Neurolentech
We are thrilled to announce our new collaboration with Neurolentech GmbH to generate patient-specific cellular models for neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Our common aim is to investigate disease mechanisms at the cellular, functional and molecular levels with the goal to generate tools and data to foster therapeutic drug development.
ASDs are genetic disorders affecting the expression and function of hundreds of genes that influence the development and performance of neuronal circuits. Currently, there are no available drug treatments targeting the core symptoms of ASDs. Research into the molecular and cellular mechanisms of ASDs are therefore needed to develop therapies in order to help patients and their families
Genetic research on neurodevelopmental disorders
The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy (CAPPP) at the Center for Mental Health of the University Hospital Frankfurt is specialized in diagnosing and treating individuals with psychiatric conditions, especially ASD. The main aim is providing value to the patient’s and practitioners. Their research focuses on improving diagnosis, understanding prognosis and identifying new treatment options. Specifically, the Molecular Genetics Laboratory at the CAPPP is committed to elucidate the genetic drivers and their cellular pathogenic mechanisms behind neurodevelopmental disorders and translate this knowledge into clinical applications. To target the complexity of the goal, and to address the personalized approaches the CAPPP joins efforts with the highly innovative start-up Neurolentech GmbH.
Innovative methods towards personalized treatment
Neurolentech GmbH is specializing in rapid and cost-efficient generation and characterization of patient-specific cellular disease models for neurodevelopmental disorders, bridging the gap between clinical research and drug development. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement Neurolentech will receive primary ASD-patient cells in order to develop patient-specific neuronal cultures and characterize them using omics-approaches as well as functional assays with the goal of identifying biomarkers, biochemical pathways and targets that will facilitate pre-clinical drug discovery for ASDs.
Combining the excellent clinical characterization with high-end cellular models and methods, will significantly speed-up the identification and characterization of the underlying pathology. The collaboration with economic partners will tighten the link between patient care, pharmacological intervention and basic research. The focus has to be to increase our understanding of the diversity of the etiology underlying a complex disorder such as ASD
There is not one ASD, and thus there is no “one-size-fits” all solution. We are convinced that the collaboration with the highly innovative company Neurolentech, will pave the way towards a biology and data-driven personalized treatment approach”.
Our common goal to develop treatments for patients with neurodevelopmental disorders will put the individual in the center of research and development. Characterizing the disease within cellular models, together with high quality clinical and genetic diagnostics are the basis for understanding disease pathology and the first steps towards drug development. This long-term collaboration will advance both, academic research and commercial drug development for the benefit of patients and their families.
Basic research into the mechanisms of neurodevelopmental diseases like Autism Spectrum Disorder will provide the most promising approach to help the patients. We are thrilled to work together with strong and well-connected clinical partners in order to advance the best research for ASDs
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