Walloon (Belgium) government funds ASIT Biotech’s food allergies treatment research
January 12, 2017The Walloon (Belgium) government has decided to fund ASIT Biotech to help develop new drug candidates to treat the main food allergies caused by peanuts, cow’s milk and egg whites.
A Belgian clinical-stage producer of allergies treatments has received €6 million from the Walloon government’s Vice-President and Minister of the Economy, Industry, Innovation and Digital Affairs, Jean-Claude Marcourt.
ASIT plans to work on the the first stage of testing new drugs with Dr. Shamji, the Head of the Immunomodulation and Tolerance research group at Imperial College, London. They will together test the allergenicity and antigenicity of the products on an ex-vivo human model.
In the second stage, ASIT will be work on clinical trials with Dr. Stephen Till, senior lecturer at King’s College London specializing in food allergies in adults.
Jean-Claude Marcourt, the Walloon government’s Vice-President and Minister of the Economy, Industry, Innovation and Digital Affairs, said: “The Wallonia region of Belgium has become a global benchmark in the life sciences sector. ASIT biotech’s ambitious research program again shows us the ability of Walloon companies to position themselves as true leaders in cutting-edge sectors. Wallonia supports companies that innovate, thus creating new economic momentum and generating jobs. Beyond these positive economic benefits, I would like to commend ASIT biotech for its efforts to continue improving health care, and therefore patients’ quality of life.”
