On 29-30 September 2020, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, in collaboration with Janssen Immunology, hosted a virtual scientific and partnering event on state-of-the-art developments in immunology, bringing together entrepreneurs, start-ups, researchers, and scientists from across EMEA and beyond.
Immunology is one of the most rapidly advancing fields of biomedical research. Discoveries in immunology have enabled better ways to treat autoimmune and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis. Despite these advances, only a ~16% of patients living with moderate to severe forms of immune-mediated diseases are treated with advanced therapies and less than half of those achieve clinical remission*.
At Johnson & Johnson we see that in order to tackle this unmet need, new boundaries are being pushed in immune therapeutics. Researchers and drug developers are going beyond the suppression of single cytokine signalling pathways to more holistic approaches that attempt to rebalance rather than suppress the immune system. This next wave of scientific innovation includes:
- Novel MoAs that engage the immune system’s natural brakes or target the non-immune cells that amplify inflammation
- Targeting immune therapeutics to specific tissues or immune-cell types
- Novel modalities that open up previously undruggable immune targets
- High dimensional immune profiling for biomarker discovery for target identification and patient stratification
Johnson & Johnson Innovation, in collaboration with Janssen Immunology, is seeking to gather entrepreneurs, biotech’s and academic researchers who are trying to push such boundaries for a discussion on harnessing the next wave of science and innovation in Immunology and how Johnson & Johnson could partner and support them in their journey.
Please find below an exciting programme, networking and partnering opportunities – all virtual, to keep everyone’s costs and travels to a minimum as we continue to cope with a worldwide pandemic.
* 2018 data for US, Japan and EU5. Sources include Decision Resources, Kantar Health, NIH, Journal of Investigative Dermatology, BMJ, Foster Rosenblatt research, ZS Associates, Truven Claims, Deloitte research, data on file
15:25 Panel Discussion and Q&A: Next Wave in Immune Therapeutics - Harnessing Early Innovation
- Houman Ashrafian | Managing Partner, SV Health Investors
- David Lee | Global Immunology Therapeutic Area Head, Janssen Research & Development, LLC
- Erika Pearce | Director, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, and Founder of Rheos Medicines
- Jason Witherington (moderator) | Vice President, Immunology Lead EMEA, Johnson & Johnson Innovation Centre (London)
Meeting the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Team
We interested to meet one-to-one with early-stage companies and researchers interested in presenting their technology/solutions and discussing potential collaboration opportunities.
The original deadline to apply for 1:1 meeting with our team has now passed.
However, the information about our areas of interest, and the application form to request a 1:1 meeting, will remain available via the button below until 22 October EOD.
Meeting other event participants
If you wish to meet other event participants during the partnering sessions or after the event, please ensure you tick the relevant box in the registration form and include a short bio/description of yourself/your company/your work. This will allow us to share your details with other participants in advance of the event.
Please note that you are responsible for reaching out to participants you are interested to meet, and for arranging these meetings (including any videoconferencing requirements). Only 1:1 meetings with the Johnson & Johnson Innovation team will be scheduled and facilitated by the event organising team.
Houman Ashrafian is Managing Partner at SV. He joined SV in 2016 as a Venture Partner, was promoted to Partner in 2017 and became a Managing Partner in 2018.
He has founded six SV companies; Sitryx, Enara Bio, Zarodex, TrexBio, Alchemab and Mestag. Houman serves on the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) Investment Committee and as a Director of Karus Therapeutics.
Elena is responsible for delivering on the goals and objectives for JLABS in EMEA. Her responsibilities include P&L management, external engagement, innovation sourcing, company onboarding, portfolio management, operational excellence and educational programming in collaboration with the team responsible for the site and the region.
Dr. Pearce launched her independent research career at the Trudeau Institute in Saranac Lake, New York. In 2011, she moved to the Department of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. In 2015, Dr. Pearce moved her group to Europe to become a Director at the Max Planck Institute for Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg, Germany. In 2018 she was awarded the Leibniz Prize for her work on immune cell metabolism.
Nerida oversees the EMEA Innovation Center portfolio of co-investments and collaborations to construct, prioritize and advance the early external innovation portfolio of Johnson & Johnson. She identifies and accelerates science and technology outside the company in areas of strategic value to consumer health, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, exploring new models to support external R&D collaboration and grow early stage innovation networks.
Johnson & Johnson Innovation Notice
The views expressed during this event, including during any associated networking and/or individual meetings by anyone other than an employee of Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, its parent company or any affiliate companies (herein after referred to as “JJI”) are those of the speakers or experts alone, and such experts or speakers are solely responsible for the information and opinions expressed by them. By hosting this event, the presentations and any associated networking and/or individual meetings, JJI does not endorse the views of the speakers, experts or the attendees, and JJI makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the content, the views, advice or the information
