September 10, 2013
1:00 pm to 2:00 pm EDT

Sponsored by
 

Symposium Course Description:

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are prevalent gastrointestinal diseases associated with chronic or recurring inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Crohn’s disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), collectively known as IBD, affect up to 500 per 100,000 individuals in the US and some ethnic groups at an even higher rate. Currently, there are no curative therapies available for IBD, only treatments intended to achieve (and maintain) remission from active flares of inflammation and disease symptomology. Despite the utilization of new and existing therapies (such as systemic anti-TNFα therapies), surgical intervention often becomes necessary to control the condition or to address complications that arise from chronic IBD.

The financial burden of IBD is tremendous. Currently, the total US market for IBD has exceeded $1.7 billion/year. Increased disease prevalence, and a growing global market, has resulted in a greater need and motivation to understand the underlying pathobiology of IBD and for companies/researchers to develop new targets, and subsequently therapies, that can be used to treat (and potentially cure) the condition.

In the process of developing a drug or biologic for the treatment of IBD, it is essential to utilize predictive animal models that accurately replicate the human disease state and respond to standard therapies. This webinar will review several sophisticated preclinical models of IBD as well as describe novel approaches that can be used to provide clinically relevant data. Additionally, the webinar will provide an overview of the clinical condition and how utilization of clinically relevant animal models has allowed a company to confidently characterize their therapies and potential biological outcomes that are anticipated in patients.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the Clinical Status of IBD and the Current Diagnostic / Therapeutic Approaches
• Define the Role of Preclinical Models in IBD Development
• Discuss Three Novel Models of Colitis and Sophisticated Approaches that Provide Clinical Relevance
• Share Success Story of Transitioning Concept to Patient Using the Preclinical Colitis Models

Who Should Attend:

• Translational Medicine (Scientist / Director / Program Management / CSO)
• Inflammation (Scientist / Director / Program Management / CSO)
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Scientist / Director / Program Management / CSO)
• Preclinical Research & Development (Scientist / Director / Program Management / CSO)

Program Agenda: 

Clinical Perspective of IBD – 15 minutes

Preclinical Models of IBD / Colitis – 15 minutes

Developing an IBD therapy from Concept to Patient – A Collaborative Success Story – 15 minutes

Speaker Information:

Adam Cheifetz, MD, AGAF, FACG Director, Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Cheifetz earned his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College. Dr. Cheifetz completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital and his fellowship in Gastroenterology at Yale University before serving as the Present-Levinson Fellow in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Cheifetz is currently the Director of the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. He specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other forms of inflammatory bowel diseases. He has been cited in Boston Magazine as one of Boston’s Top Doctors on numerous occasions. In addition to his clinical work, he is involved in multiple research projects relating to IBD and has published over 50 articles and chapters on the subject. Dr. Cheifetz is an active member of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and serves as the current Chairman of the New England chapter medical advisory committee. He is currently a section editor of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and Contributing Associate Editor in Chief of the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Gregory D. Lyng, Ph.D., Partner, Director of Research, Biomodels, LLC

As Director of Research, Dr. Lyng is responsible for the oversight of all of Biomodels' preclinical research programs. Additionally, he works closely with Biomodels' clients to ensure proper study design and utilization of the most appropriate and clinically relevant models of disease in which to test potential therapeutics. Dr. Lyng's scientific expertise lies in the areas of inflammatory disease, cancer supportive care, and diseases of the central nervous system. Since joining Biomodels in 2007, he has been instrumental in the expansion of both the number and clinical translatability of the disease models offered by Biomodels. Dr. Lyng received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University at Albany School of Public Health and his B.S. in Neuroscience from St. Lawrence University.

Deborah S. Hartman, Ph.D., Vice President of Research, Avaxia Biologics, Inc.

Dr. Hartman leads the research team at Avaxia Biologics in the discovery and development of orally active bovine polyclonal antibodies for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome, and other indications. Before joining Avaxia in March of this year, Dr. Hartman led pharmaceutical research functions at AstraZeneca which delivered candidate drugs into clinical studies in multiple therapeutic areas including inflammation, respiratory disorders, and nervous system diseases. She began her career in drug discovery at Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel, Switzerland, focused on novel dopamine receptor antagonists for treatment of schizophrenia. Dr. Hartman received her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Physiology from Yale University, and an A.B. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University.