The University of California, Berkeley in association with Aduro BioTech Inc (NASDAQ:ADRO) have together initiated an innovative Immunotherapeutics and Vaccine Research Initiative (IVRI). IVRI is UC Berkeley’s initial immunotherapy-focused initiative. In association with Aduro, the initiative will blend UC Berkeley’s considerable research capabilities with the company’s know-how in immunotherapy discovery and development to pinpoint and promote new treatment options and preventive modalities for infectious disease, autoimmune disease and cancer.
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IVRI is devised to explore the novel synergy between cancer and infectious disease research as well as to speed up breakthrough discoveries in both domains. IVRI researchers are collaborating with sponsors with the common goal of finding and developing vaccines as well as other immunotherapy strategies.
Professor of Immunology and Pathogenesis at the University of California and Faculty Director of the IVRI, David Raulet said in the last few years scientists have learned a lot regarding the function of the immune system in curing disease. The two organizations look forward to leveraging that data across both industry and research to devise novel fresh treatment options to enhance patient care.
With this initiative, the two organizations will harness their strong research networks to learn how the immune system can be used to treat autoimmune disease, infectious disease and cancer.
Aduro Biotech is providing $7.5 million in funding. The company’s three years of sponsorship with the option of three more will fund work on the most promising contemporary techniques for manipulating the immune system to attack cancer as well as infections. These might include researching a fresh class of immune system stimulants termed cyclic di-nucleotides which have displayed promise in shrinking tumors and strengthening tuberculosis vaccines. Also, there is ongoing research that could assist in re-arming the immune system’s natural killer cells which attack cancer cells as well as virus-affected cells to better combat tumors.
Researchers at UC Berkeley can use Aduro’s innovative technology platforms for research purposes such as its proprietary monoclonal antibodies, STING pathway activators as well as the engineered listeria bacteria termed LADD (listeria attenuated double-deleted).
By concentrating on basic scientific research to comprehend the immune system’s biochemical arsenal and signaling pathways, the process by which the immune system identifies malicious entities and how immune cells communicate with each other, the IVRI could find fresh methods to selectively target and treat several human ailments.
