Tackling Respiratory Diseases: Breaking the cycle in Cystic Fibrosis

Having just completed her Ph.D. and having made the decision to join NIBR in Horsham, UK, Ellie Growcott was excited to be starting the next phase of her career. Little did she know that she was about to embark on a new voyage of discovery in which she would serve as a bridge in a cross-continent, multi-disciplinary effort to tackle lung disease. Ellie was new to Novartis and ready to start her research to identify therapies targeting the devastating combination of lung infection and inflammation that accounts for 80% of mortality from Cystic Fibrosis (CF). She was undaunted and excited to meet this challenge head-on with the knowledge of all of NIBR to draw upon.

Kathy Banner was leading the team charged with identifying novel anti-inflammatory therapies for CF and had begun looking for collaborative partners outside of Novartis to augment their research efforts. They identified an academic group from the University of Calgary, Canada, who had particular expertise to bring to bear. Notes Kathy, “this was the time to bring our internal Infectious Diseases bacteriology colleagues, lead by Colin Osborne, on board.”

“It was a natural collaboration,” said Colin, “and one which is helping us innovate in our drive to bring new, life-enhancing medicines to these patients as fast as we can.”

It didn’t take long to establish this multi-site, multi-disciplinary team collaboration. Colin’s group studies bacterial and viral infections in multiple organ systems, including the lung. They were targeting lung infections with the goal of treating hospital infections and were thrilled to have input from lung specialists.  “It was a natural collaboration,” said Colin, adding that they were aiming to accelerate the identification of novel anti-inflammatory and anti-infective therapeutic agents. As part of an extensive sabbatical program, Ellie was able to kick start her research by spending a year working side-by-side in Cambridge, MA, USA with the Infectious Disease Team. This program is just one of the many ways NIBR fosters close collaboration across the globe.

 

Learn more about our research in Respiratory Disease