SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verge Genomics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company transforming drug discovery using artificial intelligence and human data, today announced that it has entered into a collaboration with the Pritzker Neuropsychiatric Disorders Research Consortium to further the company’s cutting-edge research on schizophrenia. Using data generated from postmortem brain tissue provided by schizophrenia patients and healthy donors, the company will use CONVERGE®, its all-in-human, AI-powered platform, to identify novel therapeutic targets.
“We are excited about the unique opportunity afforded by this collaboration to gain new insights into the molecular processes that are dysregulated in schizophrenia patients,” said Robert H. Scannevin, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Verge Genomics. “Combining the power of CONVERGE to deconvolute complex pathophysiology and discover novel therapeutic approaches with the world-class expertise that resides within the Pritzker Consortium provides a powerful opportunity to break new ground in this refractory disease area and provide hope for patients and their families.”
Schizophrenia affects millions of individuals worldwide, profoundly impacting their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Its symptoms, including hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, and cognitive impairment, pose significant challenges in diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management. By combining their respective strengths and resources, Verge Genomics and the Pritzker Consortium aim to make substantial strides in the field of schizophrenia research.
"We are thrilled to embark on this transformative journey alongside Verge Genomics, combining their AI-powered CONVERGE platform with the invaluable resources of the Pritzker Neuropsychiatric Disorders Research Consortium. This includes the Pritzker Brain Bank, known for stringent subject selection and comprehensive metadata, coupled with deep expertise in human structural and functional neuroanatomy,” said Richard M. Myers, Ph.D., Co-Project Leader, Pritzker Neuropsychiatric Disorders Research Consortium. “This project will rely on the use of cutting-edge genomic tools and the extensive genetic, genomic, and analytical expertise at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology site of the Pritzker Consortium. Together, we are poised to uncover the neuro-molecular signature of schizophrenia and identify novel targets for drug discovery. This partnership with Verge Genomics exemplifies the commitment of the Pritzker Consortium to pushing the boundaries of research in order to provide new avenues for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of severe psychiatric disorders,” added Myers.
The collaboration will include members of the Pritzker Consortium at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (Dr. Myers’s team), the University of Michigan (Dr. Huda Akil’s and Dr. Stanley Watson’s teams), the University of California Irvine (Dr. William Bunney’s team), Stanford University (Dr. Alan Schatzberg’s team), and Weill Medical College of Cornell University (Dr. Francis Lee’s team).
About Verge Genomics
Verge is focused on developing therapeutics for complex diseases with high unmet need, using human genomics from patient disease tissues and machine learning. Verge has created a proprietary all-in-human CONVERGE® platform featuring one of the field’s largest and most comprehensive databases of multi-omic patient data. The company is led by experienced computational biologists and drug developers who are successfully advancing clinical and preclinical therapeutic programs in various diseases, including ALS and Parkinson’s disease. For additional information, please follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Pritzker Neuropsychiatric Disorders Research Consortium
The Pritzker Consortium seeks to discover the neurobiological and genetic causes of three major psychiatric disorders, Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia. The Pritzker Consortium also seeks to identify biomarkers and novel targets for drug development. The Consortium conducts studies to identify genetic alterations in brain circuits associated with mood disorders and consists of investigators involved in all aspects of the scientific process from basic to clinical research, from genetics to neuroscience. The multi-dimensional approach is also bi-directional, in that the research process starts with human postmortem brain tissue proceeds to animal models and circles back to individuals with psychiatric disorders to translate our knowledge into benefits for patients.
More information is available at http://www.pritzkerneuropsych.org/.
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