UQ, industry partner for rheumatoid arthritis treatment

Brisbane-based Dendright and Janssen-Cilag have entered a research collaboration to help develop a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

Dendright, which is wholly-owned by UniQuest, the University of Queensland’s research commercialisation company. Under the agreement, Dendright will receive a seed grant to fund pre-clinical development of the treatment.

The seed funding will be supplied to UQ's Diamantina Institute, the clinical research facility conducting the development, which is lead by Professor Ranjeny Thomas.

The prospective treatment may also have applications for other autoimmune diseases, including type-1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

Thomas said that the partnership deal with Janssen-Cilag represents an opportunity to receive more than just financial backing. “It means we can tap into their scientific expertise, which will add another dimension to our clinical research,” she said.

UniQuest managing director David Henderson said the collaboration is the latest example of Australian universities and international businesses combining resources for medical research.

“The innovation has many developmental stages yet to pass before it might result in a therapeutic product on the market.However, this funding and relationship milestone will support further research and the product optimisation required to prepare it for clinical trials,” he said.

Dendright was founded in 2005 to support the Institute's research into autoimmune diseases. It was established with the aid of grants from the Queensland and Federal Governments, and is also supported by peak community body Arthritis Queensland.

Janssen-Cilag was formed by the merger between the Australian arms of Belgium-headquartered Janssen Pharmaceutica and Sweden-based Cilag.