Letter From Jerry

September 17, 2012

It’s times like this when everyone should pause for a minute, look up from your desk, and reflect on—and take pride in—the incredible amount of work being accomplished by the ITN. We have more than a half dozen manuscripts being prepared before year’s end; we have a large number of studies in full throttle, and we have seven trials to start before spring, representing exciting tolerance strategies in each of our four therapeutic areas.

Fortunately, we are well positioned to handle these challenges. The streamlining efforts of the recent past are bearing fruit, both in terms of efficiencies and cost savings, helped by major initiatives such as CTMS and TrialShare. The leadership team is actively involved in planning for the next renewal cycle of the ITN, confident that our organization and focus will continue without disruption.

At the upcoming fall NSC meeting, we will be discussing exciting combination therapies designed for antigen-specific tolerance induction in transplantation and allergy, and an immune “re-education” therapy for diabetes that is a key step towards that goal. Meanwhile, we are engaging with top labs for in-depth interrogation of the “responders” in recently completed and current trials, charting new paths towards understanding how to predict and enhance success. Of course, the fact that we have “responders” in our tolerance trials is a remarkable thing, and an indicator that although the road we travel has an occasional bump or two, it is a wonderful path to take together.

Jerry Nepom, MD, PhDNetwork Director

More Information

Attached PDF