In this episode of Beyond Biotech, host Dylan speaks with Joseph Ferner, author of Inpart’s latest R&D Trends Report on Immunology and Inflammation. Ferner explains how digital platforms like Inpart are bridging academia and industry, and explores the innovations reshaping immune-related drug discovery.

Key Points:

Immunology R&D is evolving fast, powered by organoid models, AI tools, and fresh investment. Ferner highlights how smarter partnerships and data-driven insights can reduce clinical failures. Inpart’s network aims to unite academia and pharma to accelerate the next generation of immune therapies.

• Origins of the R&D Trends Reports – Ferner traces the reports back to Inpart’s COVID-19 Global Challenges Program, which connected research institutes and companies to accelerate solutions, evolving into a data-rich reporting series covering multiple biotech fields.
• Major R&D Challenges – Immunology and inflammation research faces high translational failure due to poor preclinical models and the extraordinary complexity of the human immune system, where “redundant” pathways can undermine single-target drugs.
• Emerging Solutions – Next-generation organoid models, AI-driven biomarker discovery, and patient-derived cell systems promise more accurate preclinical validation and pave the way for personalized immunotherapies.
• Investment Boom – A surge in global autoimmune disease prevalence (affecting roughly 1 in 10 people) and the promise of chronic-use therapeutics have fueled more than $10 billion in 2024 investments and a 50% rise in therapeutic assets since 2020.
• Breakthrough Innovations – Ferner spotlights advances such as Fiver Therapeutics’ “master-switch” antibody that dampens multiple cytokines simultaneously, and JT Pharma’s small-molecule inflammasome inhibitor for bowel disease—illustrating the field’s shift toward multi-target precision.
• Bridging Science and Industry – Inpart’s Connect platform hosts 9,000+ research opportunities from 250 institutes and 20,000 industry decision-makers, using smart matchmaking to spark collaborations. Yet Ferner notes a persistent gap between early-stage academic work and industry appetite for validated, lower-risk technologies.