Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Gubra announce collaboration within inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Gubra entered into a collaboration agreement to further develop and characterize preclinical animal models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The collaboration aims to advance our early pipeline of targets in intestinal inflammation and fibrosis. Over the next year, we will conduct studies to help us understand the onset and progression of disease in preclinical models of IBD and validate tool compounds. In addition, Ferring and Gubra will collaborate to develop and standardise methods to assess fibrosis in the intestine, focusing on histological features that are translatable to human disease.

“This collaboration highlights Ferring’s commitment to IBD and our ambition to develop better and more translatable models to support target validation”, says Bryan Fuchs, VP Gastroenterology, Global Drug Discovery & External Innovation. He adds: “Gubra is a recognized preclinical research organization with expertise in digital imaging and AI quantification of fibrosis, so they are uniquely suited to partner with us in this endeavor.”

CEO at Gubra, Henrik Blou, expresses “IBD is a growing part of Gubra’s disease focus, and we see this as an opportunity to make a difference, especially with a knowledgeable player like Ferring. We are thrilled with the collaboration and the possibility to unfold Gubra’s wide palette of advanced digital methods and technologies to assess and quantify histological features of inflammation and fibrosis. Together with our competent partners at Ferring, we look forward to creating strong preclinical models that translate well into the clinic.”