Gregory Sonnenberg, The Henry R. Erle, M.D.-Roberts Family Associate Professor of Medicine
Summary
- Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) involves chronic inflammation of intestinal tissue
- Rising rates of IBD in the US and globally underscores the need for novel and effective therapeutics
- Dr. Sonnenberg has been at the forefront of interrogating the function, regulation and therapeutic potential of tissue resident ILC3s, for mediating chronic intestinal inflammation
- His work highlights a novel pathway that offers a potential new therapeutic target for treating chronic gut inflammation
Technical Overview
- Group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) are tissue resident cells that regulate immunity, inflammation, and tissue homeostasis
- Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) drives chronic inflammation in Irritable Bowl Disease (IBD) and other chronic inflammatory diseases
- ILC3s produce heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) which can protect intestinal epithelium from TNF-induced cell death
- Pre-clinical studies of both acute intestinal inflammation and chronic intestinal inflammation demonstrate that HB-EGF was essential in reducing intestinal damage and inflammation
- Patients with IBD have significantly fewer HB-EGF-producing
- ILC3s in inflamed intestinal tissue compared to normal patients
- Selective activation of the ILC3-HB-EGF pathway provides a novel therapeutic target for chronic intestinal inflammation
Market Opportunity
- Disease market: Approximately 3 million Americans suffer from IBD with 70,000 new cases per year
- IBD treatment market was approximately $8.6 billion in the US in 2020 with an expected CAGR of 3.8% over the next 10 years
- TNF inhibitors have the market share of IBD therapeutics
Partnering Opportunity
Weill Cornell Medicine is seeking a strong industrial partner with whom to collaborate around a dedicated program in the Sonnenberg
lab aimed at developing new drugs to selectively activate ILC3s
Resources
Contact Information
For additional information please contact
Brian Kelly
Director, Business Development and Licensing
Phone: (646) 962-7041
Email: bjk44@cornell.edu