Grant: CCI Applied Research and Development Grants

This project builds on an already established fruitful research partnership conducted between Qu Biologics and TransBIOTech where some of Qu’s Site-Specific Immunomodulators (SSIs) in clinical development were tested in vivo to further their capabilities in modulating innate immunity. These works have led to the establishment of strong expertise for both partners in the development of pertinent models to evaluate innate immunity while creating new tools to assess the response either in cellulo from ex vivo samples or histologically. Taking advantage of these assets and the favourable safety profile of Qu’s SSIs, which is similar to traditional microbial-based vaccines, the partner is seeking to expand the application of their first-in-class immunotherapy to improve health outcomes through innate immune modulation. Specifically, the partner seeks to study the impact of SSI treatment on immunosenescence, which manifests as the observed age-related decline in immune function, and metabolic dysfunction associated with obesity that presents with insulin resistance, hyperglycemia and chronic unproductive inflammation. The immune dysregulation and poor immune resiliency present in the context of immunosenescence and obesity-associated metabolic disease significantly increase the risk of immunopathologies, such as cancer and high morbidity and mortality in response to infection, as was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. These two conditions are strongly linked to defective innate immunity, which Qu’s SSIs are designed to restore. This project aims to investigate a completely novel solution, not only to treat, but also to prevent these increasingly prevalent conditions that currently represent a critical unmet healthcare need in Canada and globally.