IFM Due, a unit of IFM therapeutics, has announced an extension of research and development collaboration with Swiss drugmaker Novartis for developing immunotherapies to treat a range of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. 

As per the terms of the extended collaboration, Novartis will continue funding IFM’s research on the cGAS-STING pathway program, the inhibition of which could help treat autoimmune diseases. cGAS-STING activation, such as in the setting of mitochondrial dysfunction, underlies more common diseases such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, , chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, age-related macular degeneration, and Parkinson’s disease, in addition to rare diseases such as Aicardi-Goutières syndrome, STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy and a subset of systemic lupus erythematosus.  

CEO of IFM Therapeutics H. Martin Seidel said that by advancing novel therapies that selectively target the cGAS-STING pathway, the collaborative project has the potential to deliver powerful therapeutic options for patients with serious chronic illnesses.