BioMed X Institute and Merck KGaA Start Second Research Project in Immunology

BioMed X, a German independent research institute, announced on March 15, 2022 a collaboration with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany on a new research project, “Regulatory T Cell Dysfunction in Autoimmunity and Inflammaging” (TDA). TDA is the second collaborative project in immunology and eighth general joint research program between the companies since 2013.

TDA’s main objective is to understand the molecular mechanisms governing immune senescence and metabolic dysfunction in regulatory T cells and other T cell subsets that are shared in autoimmunity and aging.

“Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are crucial for maintaining self-tolerance and preventing autoimmune disease,” explained Dr. Gorjana Rackov, group leader of team TDA, in a press release. “During aging, cellular senescence of Tregs and their dysfunctional state may contribute to age-related diseases fueled by chronic inflammation in the elderly – also called ‘inflammaging’. Our goal is to improve patient outcomes by delivering new targets and novel therapeutic approaches for autoimmune disease treatment and for balancing immune responses in the elderly.”

“The next big frontier in immunology research is understanding human disease biology in the context of human tissue microenvironment and at the level of single cells,” added Christian Tidona, founder and managing director of BioMed X. “This new project allows us to further deepen our expertise in immunology research and to lay the groundwork for new therapeutic concepts for the treatment of chronic inflammation in autoimmune patients and the elderly.”

Source: BioMed X