ARU Fibrosis Research and Drug Discovery Group appeal

Although fibrotic disorders account for 45% of mortality in developed countries, the current medications to treat fibrosis are extremely limited in number, efficacy and safety. Therefore, there is an urgent unmet need to develop new anti-fibrotic medicines.

The unmet need for anti-fibrotic therapeutics has recently become more acute by the risk of fibrotic conditions being increased by Covid-19 infection. It is now estimated that 5-30% of patients who have had severe Covid-19 infection are at the risk of developing long-term lung, heart or kidney problems that are associated with fibrosis.

Moreover, the number of skin burns has increased significantly during Covid-19 lockdown; some of these burns may cause scarring, which also is a fibrotic condition. Therefore, new treatments that can prevent fibrosis formation are urgently needed.

The Drug Discovery Group within ARU's Medical Technology Research Centre aims to develop novel anti-fibrotic medicines through phenotypic screening. We have developed and validated phenotypic assays amenable to high throughput screening, as well as secondary functional assays. One of our workstreams has identified two compounds which have been further tested and validated and are now being taken to clinical studies.

In order to continue our essential work on developing new anti-fibrotic medicines, we need your support. Your donations will be used to purchase research material and hire new researchers and will make a big difference to the lives of thousands of patients who are waiting for a treatment.

Please accept our sincerest thanks on behalf of all those who will benefit from your generosity.