Janssen, Johnson & Johnson Innovation establish IBD research alliance with Mount Sinai

Janssen Biotech, Inc. ("Janssen") and Johnson & Johnson Innovation announced today the establishment of a research alliance with The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ("Mount Sinai") to advance the scientific understanding of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the discovery of next generation therapeutic solutions.  Scientists from the Janssen Immunology Therapeutic Area and researchers from Mount Sinai will work in partnership to investigate disease triggers, identify new opportunities for therapeutic interventions and establish diagnostics to facilitate precision medicine and predictive biomarkers.  The first-of-its-kind industry and academic partnership brings together Janssen research and development capabilities with an early-stage life science investment through the Johnson & Johnson Innovation center in Boston and Mount Sinai's expertise in computational biology, and clinical and translational research in IBD. 

"The collaboration with Mount Sinai underscores a shared commitment to further understand inflammatory bowel disease biology and advance patient care through the discovery of novel therapeutic solutions," said Miguel S. Barbosa, Ph.D., Vice President, Head of Immunology Research & Scientific Partnership Strategy, Janssen Research & Development, LLC.  "By bringing together two excellent scientific teams with a shared long-term vision to improve the health of individuals living with IBD, we will harness the joint expertise and capabilities to deepen the scientific understanding of the disease and deliver future innovative medicines and co-diagnostics."

"Research alliances such as these, managed by the team at Mount Sinai Innovation Partners, allow us to develop, patent, license, and translate laboratory breakthroughs into clinical applications," said Dennis Charney, M.D., Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of The Mount Sinai Medical Center.  "The strength of Janssen for therapies in immune-related diseases is an ideal match for our own clinical and research expertise in inflammatory bowel disease."

The collaboration will focus on building a Molecular Interaction Network of Disease (MIND) in IBD with the breadth and depth to yield high confidence therapeutic hypotheses to be tested in vitro and in vivo.  Using preclinical models, clinical study data and patient samples, a dedicated group of Janssen and Mount Sinai researchers, computational biologists and translational medicine scientists will develop clinical methodologies to test hypotheses and identify potential therapeutic candidates. 

This unique industry and academic research alliance brings together scientific and institutional resources from Mount Sinai, Janssen and Johnson & Johnson Innovation representing each organization's deep commitment and investment in transforming the treatment of IBD.  Detailed terms of the agreement are not being disclosed, but a successful collaboration may represent a multi-million dollar commitment each year over a four-year period in the pursuit of next generation therapeutic solutions for IBD.     

"The research alliance with Mount Sinai is representative of the Johnson & Johnson Innovation strategy—catalyze early-stage innovation through a regional network of collaborators to advance breakthrough science into new healthcare solutions," said Robert Urban, Ph.D., Head of the Johnson & Johnson Innovation center in Boston.  "By connecting with leading experts who are based in universities, academic centers or biotechnology companies, we are eager to help these researchers bring their discoveries into the lives of patients suffering from high unmet medical needs, like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis."

As many as 1.4 million people in the United States and more than five million people worldwide are affected by IBD, chronic, immune-mediated digestive diseases that include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC). The symptoms of Crohn's disease and UC can be severe and progress to the need for surgical intervention.  Although progress has been made in research and treatment over the years, researchers do not know what causes IBD.