Therapeutic areas

We promote applied research (drug discovery) in strategic therapeutic areas

  • Inflammatory bowel disease

    Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), is a chronic and recurrent inflammatory disease that mainly relates to the intestinal tract. The cause of IBD is generally accepted that it is multifactorial, involving genetic predisposition, mucosal barrier dysfunction, disturbances in the gastrointestinal microbiota, dysregulated immune responses, environmental, and lifestyle factors. The early twenty-first century has witnessed a rapidly rising incidence in newly industrialized countries. Although the morbidity turns to be stable in western countries, burden remains high as prevalence exceeds 0.3%.

  • Urticaria

    Urticaria is a common clinical condition presenting with wheals (hives), angioedema, or both. Urticaria has a complex pathogenesis, along with a high disease burden, a significant impact on quality of life, and high health care costs with prevalence of about 9%.

  • Chronic sinusitis

    Chronic sinusitis occurs when the spaces inside your nose and head (sinuses) are swollen and inflamed for three months or longer, despite treatment. This common condition interferes with the way mucus normally drains, and makes your nose stuffy. Breathing through your nose may be difficult, and the area around your eyes might feel swollen or tende

  • Immunomodulation

    Immunomodulation encompasses all therapeutic interventions aimed at modifying the immune response. Augmentation of the immune response is desirable to prevent infection in states of immunodeficiency, to fight established infections and to fight cancer. In immunodeficiencies, treatment of the cause is most important (e.g., malnutrition, HIV). Specific immune defects can seldom be corrected, and the establishment of a new immune system by allogeneic stem cell transplantation should be considered

  • Eosinophilic esophagitis

    Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the esophagus characterized clinically by symptoms related to esophageal dysfunction and histologically by eosinophil-predominant inflammation. Eosinophilic esophagitis can affect all age groups, with an incidence peak between the third and the fifth decade of life. Its estimated prevalence is 30–100/100.000 in the adult. EO incidence has risen rapidly over the last 15 years both in the US and in Europe and EoE is now recognized as the first cause of dysphagia in the adult population