Unlocking the matrix barrier in fibrotic diseases
Fibrosis is a significant unmet medical challenge, contributing to over 45% of deaths in the developed world. Although current treatments offer some relief by slowing progression, they fall short of halting or reversing fibrosis and often lead to adverse effects, undermining patient compliance. The excessive and mechanically aberrant extracellular matrix serves as a crucial driver of fibrotic progression, yet targeting it safely poses a considerable challenge.
The Tandem Therapeutics team is developing a novel approach to target the previously inaccessible fibrotic matrix in lung fibrosis. Their scalable technology uses specialized peptides capable of navigating through the dense stromal barrier to halt fibrosis progression with minimal systemic toxicity. In the future, the team also aims to bring this matrix targeting technology to other fibrotic diseases.
Faculty Mentor
