Collaborators

Taligen has established a group of scientific collaborators who are leaders in the complement field and who work closely with Dr. Holers. At the Denver site, Joshua Thurman, M.D., a Nephrologist and faculty member at the University of Colorado works closely with Taligen on basic complement biology and applications to renal disease. Other investigators at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine (UCDSOM) or at the National Jewish Medical Research Center (NJMRC) in Denver with a focus on the complement field who are actively collaborating with Dr. Holers and Dr. Thurman include Anne Lynch, M.D., Philip Stahel, M.D., Patsy Giclas, Ph.D., Susan Boackle, M.D., Nirmal Banda, Ph.D., William Arend, M.D. and Erwin Gelfand, M.D.. These investigators are experts in the pathogenesis of human diseases and murine models for pathogenic conditions including pregnancy complications, traumatic brain injury, autoimmune diseases, arthritis and asthma.

In addition, Taligen has established strong ties with Stephen Tomlinson, PhD, of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), whose research has spearheaded the development of targeted complement inhibitors such as TT30. Gary Gilkeson, M.D., a collaborator of Drs. Holers and Tomlinson who is also at MUSC, has focused on applying modulators of the alternative pathway of complement activation to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and demonstrated substantial efficacy when treating renal disease in models of SLE. Baerbel Rohrer, Ph.D. of the Storm Eye Institute at MUSC has been instrumental in studying the effects of alternative pathway modulators in eye diseases such as AMD.

Taligen and Dr. Holers also collaborate with other internationally recognized investigators who have provided substantial insights into areas relevant to therapeutic development. For example, Jane Salmon, M.D. of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City has worked on the effects of alternative pathway inhibitors in models of fetal loss, growth restriction and other pregnancy-related conditions. Xiaojiang Chen, Ph.D., of the University of Southern California has provided ongoing support and analysis of the structural aspects of complement and Taligen's therapeutic molecules. Dennis Hourcade, Ph.D. at Washington University School of Medicine is an expert in the role of factor B and the mechanisms of alternative pathway activation and regulation.