AllerGen renewed for another seven years to continue battle against allergy epidemic

The Allergy, Genes and Environment Network (AllerGen) has received a second seven-year tranche of funding that will allow it to complete projects designed to combat the global epidemic in allergy-related diseases. The Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) received $36.6 million ($5.2 million annually) which will take the McMaster Univ-based organization to FY18-19.

AllerGen undertakes projects in three areas: gene-environment interactions, biomarkers and bioinformatics and patients, policy and policy health with outcomes in knowledge mobilization, research and intellectual property and commercialization. Since its inception in 2005, it has pulled together more than 100 network research partners, 173 principal investigators and co-investigators whose work has attracted collaborators from 10 countries.

"We know where the knowledge gaps are and we're driving to the finish line to try and realize the key goals we started during the first seven years," says AllerGen managing director Diana Royce. "The first seven years was devoted to creating a culture, building capacity and refining projects. In the second seven years, we will pick up speed and focus more on all sorts of impacts."

A vibrant clinical trials group — the Clinical Investigator Collaborative consortium — does specialized Phase II trials on new compounds that industry produces, generating a detailed level of intelligence that has proven highly attractive to business. The CIC has conducted 20 clinical trials (17 for major pharmaceutical companies and three for start-ups) that have generated $22 million in external funding for an impressive leverage of 1:7.5.

"These have made Canada the go-to place for clinical trials. Industry has to apply because the pipeline is full. For start-ups it has allowed them to get that next financing," says Royce. "Overall, AllerGen has received $48 million in cash and in-kind in its first seven years. When we were preparing for renewal, 100 organizations wrote letters of support that includes $45 million in commitments. That's pretty good considering the economic climate and this was all prospective at the time."

Royce says that CIC will ultimately become a free-standing entity once NCE funding expires in 2019, with a spin-out plan in the works. The food allergy group will also endure beyond AllerGen's lifespan, with leadership passed on to one or more of its partners.

AllerGen maintains close ties with technology transfer organizations across Canada and its relationship with TEC Edmonton has resulted in a spin-out from the network. Edmonton-based Respirylite was established in 2010 by Dr Darryl Adamko, formerly a professor at the Univ of Alberta and now with the Univ of Saskatchewan. The firm has developed diagnostics technology using nuclear magnetic resonance and urine samples to diagnose and manage asthma. It is now available for global licensing.

AllerGen also enabled the creation Adiga Life Sciences, a joint venture between McMaster Univ and UK-based Circassia Ltd. It specializes in identifying and commercializing early stage medical technology projects and was founded by Dr Mark Larché, who was recruited to Canada by AllerGen scientific director Dr Judah Denburg.

AllerGen has made significant strides in the area of food allergies and has developed an award-winning e-learning product aimed at teachers. It has also conducted major cohort studies including one longitudinal study involving more than 3,000 infants and their families with four recruitment sites across Canada.

"The network structure allowed us to do it," says Royce. "It also connected us to the international community."

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