Augurix, ETHZ and University of Zürich to initiate joint research programme

Augurix SA, together with the ETH Zürich and the University Hospital of Zürich are pleased to announce that they have received funding from the Swiss Government’s Commission for Innovation (CTI) for a joint development collaboration. The project will involve the Drug Formulation & Delivery laboratory at the ETH Zürich, directed by Professor Jean-Christophe Leroux, Professor Gerhard Rogler from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University Hospital of Zürich, and Dr Michele Bernasconi from the University Children’s Hospital Zurich.
 
The 18months collaboration is the first phase of a project aiming at developing a new oral contrast agent dedicated to the early stratification of patients suffering from pre_fibrotic Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). Specific biomarkers will be bound to an orally- tolerated, non-toxic biopolymer structure. Such a tailored IBD probe will be more patient-friendly, making the endoscopic examination less labor intensive. It will also open new horizons in terms of diagnosis and timely treatments, tapping into a market evaluated to more than 2billion Euros.
 
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases is an umbrella term covering Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Together, these two chronic conditions affect about 2.4 million persons in Europe, and more than 1.3 million in the United States. Current treatment of IBD aims at inducing and maintaining patients in remission. The drugs routinely used include corticosteroids, aminosalicylates, and immunosuppressive agents. However, predicting the disease course and outcome of fibrotic complications has become increasingly important with the development of biological therapies such as the anti--_TNF antibodies that modify the natural history of IBD.  
 
Augurix SA is a Swiss_based company active in the development and marketing of in-vitro medical diagnostics devices devoted to gastroenterology. Through its portfolio of products, Augurix addresses the medical need of early discrimination between organic and systemic gastrointestinal diseases. Augurix is commercializing a rapid in-vitro diagnostic test for the early discrimination of Celiac Disease, marketed under the brand Simtomax. Augurix was founded in 2007 and has established offices and laboratory premises in Monthey (Valais, Switzerland).