IMI Members
BTCure
Be The Cure
Summary
New developments in our understanding of the pathology of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), a chronic disease affecting many patients, show how disease-inducing immune and inflammatory reactions develop from an asymptomatic phase with autoimmune reactions into a phase of non-specific symptoms and then further into the full-blown disease causing pain, joint destruction and functional deterioration.
The ultimate goal for therapeutic development is to identify the disease-causing molecular events early in the disease and then influence immunity and inflammation so that functional deterioration is halted, immunity is re-regulated and the disease is cured.
The work from groups within the BTCure consortium (and others) has recently shown that very different genetic, environmental and thus molecular events are needed to trigger different subsets of the disease. Our aim is to develop an understanding of the early process in arthritis subsets that will enable us to develop precise and eventually curative treatments to be used before irreversible destruction and loss of joint function and mobility have occurred in patients.
The BTCure project will develop new diagnostic methods to discover the early forms of RA and RA-like diseases and new tools to differentiate the different forms of RA and RA-like diseases, where different molecular mechanisms are involved and where different therapies may be required.
To achieve these goals, samples from biobanks will be analysed in vitro and models will be aligned with different variants of human arthritis. In addition, new models will be established using similar molecular pathways as the relevant human arthritis subsets, leading to the understanding of the etiology and early pathology of the disease for a program aimed at early and curative treatment of RA and RA-like diseases. A major focus of these efforts will be to understand and subsequently alter the adaptive immune reactions in patients from a disease-inducing mode into either a protective mode against the disease or become asymptomatic. Advances made through initial research into the pathology of this group of diseases have been successful, given enough information available on the nature and regulation of disease-inducing and disease-protective immunity. With these tools at hand, we will be able to use new understanding of aetiology and early pathology of human disease for a program aimed at early and ultimately curative treatment of human RA and RA-like diseases.
Participants
EFPIA
- AstraZeneca AB, Sweden
- Boehringer Ingelheim International GMBH, Germany
- Bristol Myers Squibb EMEA sarl, USA
- CENTOCOR B.V., Netherlands
- F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Switzerland
- Merck, Germany
- NovoNordisk A/S, Denmark
- Pfizer Limited, UK
- UCB Pharma, SA,Belgium
UNIVERSITIES, RESEARCH ORGANISATIONS, PUBLIC BODIES & NON-PROFIT
- Alexander Fleming Biomedical Sciences Research Center, Greece
- AMC/University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Charité-University of Medicine, Berlin, Germany
- Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Norway
- Foundation for Research and Technology, Greece
- German Rheuma Research Centre Berlin, Germany
- Humanitas Foundation for Research, Italy
- Imperial College London, UK
- Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- King's College London, UK
- National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM), France
- National University of Ireland, Dublin
- Phadia AB, Sweden
- Revmatologicky Institute, Czech Republic
- Spanish National Research Council, Spain
- Stichting Catholic University Netherlands
- University College Dublin, Ireland,
- University Hospital Centre, Montpellier, France
- University Hospital Leiden (LUMC), Netherlands
- University of Erlangen, Germany
- University of Glasgow, UK
- University of Leeds, UK
- University of Manchester, UK
- University of Zürich, Switzerland
SMEs
- TcLand Expression, France
Facts & Figures
| Start Date | 01/04/2011 |
| Duration | 60 months |
| Contributions | € |
| IMI funding | 16 137 872 |
| EFPIA in-kind | 14 172 302 |
| Other | 7 807 923 |
| Total Cost | 38 118 097 |
Contact
PROJECT COORDINATOR
UCB Pharma SA
Dr Neil Gozzard
Pharmacology
Alleé de la Recherche, 60
1070 Brussels
Belgium
Email: neil.gozzard[AT]ucb.com
MANAGING ENTITY OF IMI BENEFICIARIES
Professor Lars Klareskog
Karolinska Institute, Sweden
Nobels väg, 5
17177 Stockholm
Sweden
Email: lars.klareskog[AT]ki.se
Tel: +46 851774529
Innovative Medicines Initiative 2010