The general assembly of the DocTIS project was held at the Vall Hebron Barcelona Campus on 6 and 7 February. The European project DocTIS (acronym for ‘Decision on Combinatorial Therapies in Immune-Mediated diseases using Systems approaches’) is focused on identifying combinations of existing drugs to achieve much more effective treatments for six of the most common immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID): rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and systemic lupus erythematosus. This initiative is coordinated by the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) and involves partners from the public and private sectors, each of which brings unique expertise to address the biomedical challenge posed by the European Union.

Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are a group of diseases caused by inappropriate activation of the immune system, which attacks the body's own cells and tissues. This reduces the quality of life of sufferers, increases their risk of developing additional diseases, and can even shorten their life expectancy. These diseases are common in developed countries, affecting up to 7% of the general population, and are more prevalent in women, who can be more than ten times more likely to be afflicted than men. Despite significant advances in recent years in the development of therapies to treat IMIDs, many patients do not respond adequately or treatments lose efficacy over time, often leading to their withdrawal.

Samples from more than 100 clinical departments

During this period, DocTIS researchers have had access to samples and clinical data from IMID patients obtained through the IMID Consortium, a network of IMID researchers which includes more than 100 clinical departments from all over Spain. The samples under study are part of the extensive repository of biological samples from IMID patients stored in the IMID-Biobank of VHIR, which operates under high quality standards. European funding has enabled the generation of several sources of genetic, molecular and cellular data from IMID patients selected by the project's clinical collaborators. New methods of computational biology developed by DoCTIS researchers have been used to predict the most synergistic drug combinations. 

The DocTIS project also includes a preclinical validation part, where the most promising therapeutic combinations have been evaluated in animal models. The preclinical analysis has been successful, allowing the final stage of validation in patients to begin. The last step necessary to ensure the success of the project will therefore be the validation of these results through an new clinical trial with IMID patients. The clinical trial will take place during 2025 and will be conducted in medical centres in both the UK and Spain. 

‘We are hopeful that the trial will confirm that the methodology developed by the DoCTIS researchers is a useful tool for identifying synergistic drug combinations in common diseases. Ultimately, this breakthrough will translate into a very significant improvement in the quality of life of millions of patients,’ says Dr Sara Marsal, Head of Rheumatology Service at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, principal investigator at Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) and DocTIS project coordinator.

The DocTIS project is formed by the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute, the University of Cardiff, the University of Verona, the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), the Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG), IMIDomics Inc, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and Zabala Innovation.