DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PurinesDX (http://www.purinesdx.eu) brings together global leaders in translational research in purinergic signalling, Europe’s leading clinical specialists in a broad range of brain diseases, and industrial partners specializing in drug and biomarker development. The synergism facilitated within PurinesDX will extend to the training of an urgently needed new generation of highly skilled, innovative, creative and entrepreneurial scientists. Alongside the provision of this interdisciplinary, international and intersectoral environment, an original and high level training in state-of-the-art neuroscience will be provided, nurturing a cohort of highly competitive researchers with potential to drive a new era of neuroscience research.
Dr. John Ryan, Chief Technology Officer of Longboat has been working with the PurinesDX team in shaping the program. He has said “Longboat are delighted and privileged to work on this world-leading project and we are excited about the implications to the field of neuroscience”.
Brain disorders affect ~179 million people and their families in Europe alone, with an annual cost to the taxpayer estimated at €800 billion- a greater economic burden than cardiovascular disease and cancer combined. Despite diverse aetiology, overlap in clinical symptoms and comorbidities between brain disorders suggests shared patho-mechanisms. In particular, hyperexcitible states driven by glial activation and neuroinflammation appear near ubiquitous. Targeting these mechanisms offers the potential to ameliorate symptoms and reverse disease progression across a broad span of brain disorders. Functioning as a gatekeeper to neuroinflammation and mechanistic link between neuronal hyperexcitability and glial activation, the ATP-gated, ionotropic purinergic P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) offers the most promising target for pharmacological intervention in the neuroinflammation-hyperexcitability pathway, to date.
Dr. Tobias Engel, PurinesDX Lead says "Brain diseases represent one of the greatest clinical and economic burden to the health care system and new therapeutic and diagnostic avenues are urgently needed. However, only a close collaboration between industry and academia has the capacity to significantly advance the field in brain disease research. Thus, we're delighted to be in partnership with Longboat, experts in clinical trial software, which will not only impact on the development of new drugs and diagnostics, but Longboat will also contribute to the training of a new generation of brain researchers.”
The overall research goal of PurinesDX is to provide a novel therapeutic target and establish the diagnostic potential of newly developed devices to better diagnose and treat patients suffering from brain diseases and their underlying co-morbidities. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 766124.
Longboat CEO, Ken O’Connell has said “We are delighted to partner with some of the top European Academic Institutions and industrial partners such as Janssen and Dr. Seibt Genomics on this important initiative.”
About Longboat
Longboat is a clinical trials software company dedicated to generating better study outcomes by creating a complete support structure for site staff, patients, monitors, and study teams - where protocol compliance becomes easy and instinctive. In the complex world of clinical development, Longboat’s cloud-based site and patient engagement platform empowers clinical trial site staff and patients to do the right thing at the right time, from patient recruitment through to study closeout.
More information at http://www.longboat.com
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If you would like more information about this topic, please call John Ryan at +353 1 4035020, or email john.ryan@longboat.com
