LEO Science & Tech Hub announced a two-year collaboration with the Karp Lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) to develop minimally-invasive technology to advance dermal biomarker assessment. The Karp Lab, led by Jeffrey Karp, Ph.D., at BWH focuses on the development of platform technology and translational research to improve patient care. LEO Science & Tech Hub is an R&D innovation unit of LEO Pharma dedicated to identifying, developing, and funding innovative solutions that improve the lives of people with skin diseases.

LEO Science & Tech Hub and the Karp Lab will explore and develop technologies that could enable frequent and minimally-invasive assessment of relevant dermal biomarkers during clinical studies as well as the potential for diagnostic use in point-of-care testing. This kind of assessment could limit the number of painful skin biopsies patients must endure, and provide physicians with immediate feedback on how well a drug regimen is working.

“We are honored and excited to enter this relationship with Dr. Karp and his team including co-lead Dr. Yuhan Lee, as their deep technological expertise and innovative approach can be synergistic with our disease knowledge to bring advancement in dermal biomarker analysis,” commented Dr. Michael Sierra, VP of the LEO Science & Tech Hub. “As we continue to explore precision medicine in dermatology, this kind of collaboration is a critical component in finding better solutions for patients living with skin conditions.”

“Our lab is dedicated to using advanced biomaterials to develop minimally and non-invasive technologies that can improve the care of patients who suffer from a broad range of diseases. Through this partnership, we aim to improve the precision medicine treatments that are available to patients with skin disease,” said Dr. Karp, who is also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a world-renowned leader in bioengineering.

This collaboration will combine the Karp Lab’s proficiency to create advanced biomaterials and devices to solve medical problems with LEO Science & Tech Hub’s knowledge and expertise in skin diseases including atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and other skin conditions, and is backed by LEO Pharma’s century-long legacy of research and development of dermatological solutions.