CHICAGO, IL – November 3, 1999 – The Immune Tolerance Network, the $144
million dollar immunological research initiative supported by the National
Institutes of Health and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, will hold an
informational meeting with industry representatives on December 7, 1999 in
Washington, D.C. The meeting, open to all interested parties, is intended to
familiarize biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies interested in
tolerance research with the mission and goals of the Network and facilitate
industry participation in clinical trial and tolerance assay development
performed by Network investigators.
The Immune Tolerance Network is a seven-year initiative aimed at developing
and assessing clinical strategies to induce and measure immune tolerance.
The Network will maintain a broad focus, overseeing clinical trial and
tolerance assay development in islet and kidney transplantation, autoimmune
disorders, such as diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple
sclerosis and others, as well as allergy & asthma.
The Network is comprised of over 70 of the world’s leading experts in immune
tolerance and will conduct clinical trials at soon-to-be-established centers
around the country. Dr. Jeffrey Bluestone, of the University of Chicago, a
recognized leader in the field, is the Network Director.
"We have established a collaboration that will be open and inclusive, with
the flexibility to capitalize on emerging opportunities for any potential
tolerogenic approaches," says Dr. Bluestone. "A very important aspect of
this project is the extension of this collaboration to partner with
biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in Network trials, so that we
take full advantage of our collective resources and expertise."
Among the major topics for discussion at the meeting will be intellectual
property and technology transfer issues, maintaining confidentiality and
regulatory compliance for the Network-industry collaborations. Specifically,
the Network plans to open a discussion on plans for multi-drug trials
involving proprietary agents from different companies. Combination therapies
of such agents are a largely untapped resource, the precedent having been
set recently in an NIAID-sponsored trial using agents developed
independently by Ortho/Johnson & Johnson and Novartis.
"In the past, there have been a number of hurdles to initiating such trials,
stemming both from proprietary and logistical concerns," said Dr. Rose of
the NIAID. "The Immune Tolerance Network offers an opportunity to solve many
of these problems through large patient populations, a strong FDA interface
and access to first rate clinical researchers."
The meeting will be attended by key members of the Network Executive, as
well as several representatives from the NIH and the FDA who specialize in
technology transfer and regulatory issues.
Companies interested in sending representatives to the meeting are asked to
contact Kate Tomlin, of The EMMES Corporation at (301) 299-8655 by November
15, 1999 to reserve a space. More information can be found at the ITN
website, www.immunetolerance.org.
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The Immune Tolerance Network is a seven year, $144 million dollar clinical
research program founded in October 1999 to solicit, develop, implement and
assess clinical strategies and biological assays for the purposes of
inducing, maintaining and monitoring tolerance in humans for kidney and
islet transplantation, autoimmune diseases and allergy & asthma. The ITN is
jointly sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Disease and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International.
