AdvanTx would like to distribute two external corporate collaboration opportunities for faculty – The Johnson and Johnson Quickfire Challenge for immune-mediated diseases and a Beta-Propellor Proteins Discovery Opportunity.
Johnson & Johnson Innovation QuickFire Challenge
DEADLINE DATE: 1/14/2022
Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, together with Janssen Research & Development LLC, is launching the Immunology Innovations QuickFire Challenge. Innovators with transformative potential solutions to help or aim to advance precision medicine approaches in immune-mediated disease are invited to apply.
Specific disease areas of focus for this challenge include gastroenterology, rheumatology, dermatology, fetal-maternal diseases, autoantibody-mediated diseases, and other immune-mediated diseases where a stratified approach has the potential to be transformational for patients.
The innovator(s) with the best idea, therapy or technology, or novel approach will receive up to a total of $500,000 in grant funding, access to the global Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS (‘JLABS’) network and mentorship from experts across the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.
Interested innovators can find more detailed information about specific areas of interest and criteria by visiting J&J’s website.
Beta-Propellor Proteins Discovery Opportunity
The AdvanTx team recently learned that certain commercial parties are strategically focused on pioneering the discovery of new medicines targeting beta-propellor proteins. This protein target class contains over 500 members with a conserved propellor-like fold which are known to serve as structural scaffolds mediating interactions with proteins, nucleic acids, and other biomolecules. Further, members of this protein family play a functional role in a diverse set of cellular processes, including protein homeostasis, DNA repair, and cell cycle signaling. Certain drug discovery entities are specifically interested in exploring collaborations involving b-propellors of high scientific and clinical interest.
The AdvanTx team are contacting UNC researchers to determine if there are specific research labs that are actively investigating specific members of this protein target class. A list of specific high-interest b-propellor genes/proteins can be found here.
We encourage any UNC researcher working on gene/proteins on this list, or in the J&J opportunity, to contact the AdvanTx team (advantx@unc.edu) to discuss the project and potential avenues to collaborate and/or progress the project.
The AdvanTx Team
Website: https://research.unc.edu/advantx/
Email: advantx@unc.edu