Servier and UCL: pursuing breakthroughs in immune-inflammatory disease

UCL Medical Sciences has formed a strategic research collaboration with Servier. Together, we are advancing the discovery of therapies for lupus and systemic sclerosis.

UCL has one of the largest clusters of biomedical scientists in Europe, working to understand disease. Servier is an independent, global pharmaceutical company. Combining expertise from academia and industry can deliver important synergies. Our partnership seeks to develop vital new drugs and treatments for people with these conditions.

Around 1 in 1,000 people contracts lupus. Lupus is a disease where the immune system attacks healthy cells in the body and can lead to organ failure. This project is seeking to map which pathways are pathologically altered in people with lupus.

Systemic sclerosis, also called scleroderma, is a rare chronic condition affecting up to 2.5 million people worldwide. Very little is known about the disease, and researchers are exploring how it develops.   

Dr Claude Bertrand, Executive Vice-President Research & Development at Servier, describes the rationale behind the partnership: “Collaboration with academia is one of the main levers of our strategy to contribute to research to accelerate the discovery and development of innovative treatments for patients. The UCL team we’re working with have considerable expertise in both lupus and systemic sclerosis, and they’re based at one of the top institutions for medical and health research globally.” 

Further reading

Servier and UCL collaborate in fight against immune-inflammatory diseases