Promising news in the field of rare disease treatment: Professor Shemer (previously Cohen) from the Technion Faculty of Biology has joined the DREAMS consortium, an innovative international research initiative that aims to develop effective treatments for five rare neuromuscular disorders affecting approximately 400,000 people worldwide.
The DREAMS consortium paves the way for a novel approach to treating neuromuscular diseases. This transformative project combines the power of artificial intelligence, pluripotent stem cells, and advanced pharmacological screening techniques to seek out therapeutic solutions for five debilitating conditions.
The consortium, which will operate for five years with a budget of 7.7 million euros, will combine advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, stem cells, and pharmacological screening in animal models to develop groundbreaking innovative treatments.
According to Professor Shemer: “My group is involved in most stages of the project, including the critical steps of identifying biomarkers and therapeutic targets, testing the efficacy of molecules as novel drugs to inhibit those targets and treat the disease, validating these treatments in mouse models, and mapping the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the drugs’ action.”
The diseases to be studied in the project include:
- Duchenne muscular dystrophy
- Centronuclear myopathy
- Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy
- Pompe disease
- Danon disease
The DREAMS project represents new hope for patients with rare diseases. The collaboration between researchers, clinicians, patients, and other stakeholders, combined with advanced technologies, positions the project at the forefront of the fight against these diseases. We will follow the progress of the project and hope for its success.
