Potential conditions include atopic dermatitis, hidradenitis suppurativa, and vitiligo, among others.

Almirall S.A. is calling for proposals to better understand key pathological mechanisms of several skin diseases through AlmirallShare, its open innovation platform.

Almirall’s objective through this call is to identify and explore, through collaboration with external partners, common pathological mechanisms and pathways that can drive disease in different organs and tissues and can be translatable to dermatological diseases of interest. Potential conditions include atopic dermatitis, hidradenitis suppurativa, and vitiligo, among others.

Scientists affiliated to universities, research centres, start-ups, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies from all over the world can submit their proposals at sharedinnovation.almirall.com until January 31, 2024. A team of Almirall scientific experts will evaluate the proposals submitted to select those that best meet the requirements of the call and have the potential to form a long-term business partnership with the company.

“Through AlmirallShare, we have secured valuable collaborations that reinforce our internal efforts to improve the lives of people with skin diseases. This year we are going one step further by focusing on understanding the key pathological mechanisms that drive skin diseases. We encourage scientists from all disciplines to participate in this call, which follows a holistic approach that goes beyond dermatology,” says Maribel Crespo, AlmirallShare Leader, in a news release.

AlmirallShare was launched in 2017 as an open innovation R&D platform designed to facilitate collaborations in dermatological research and find innovative solutions in medical dermatology. This initiative has drawn more than 1,100 scientists and received around 600 proposals from over 60 countries.

To date, the company has established eight collaborative projects with different institutions, including collaborations for new therapies (IDIBAPS, University of Turin, University of South Australia, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau), new targets (Dublin City University, University of Namur) and new preclinical models (University College Dublin, University of Sheffield).

The most recent collaboration, resulting from the latest AlmirallShare call for proposals, is with the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG). This partnership aims to develop and characterize novel preclinical models for identifying new treatments for non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). The goal is to establish experimental models that allow the identification and/or validation of novel therapeutic approaches and the evaluation of new drugs for these diseases.  "At CRG, we establish partnerships with industry to solve real-world problems. Thanks to AlmirallShare, we are forging a solid collaboration with Almirall, sharing experiences and knowledge, and leveraging each other’s strengths to ultimately offer treatment options for the patients in need,” says Anabel Sanz, Head of Technology and Business Development at CRG.