Lakeside Discovery supports Northwestern lab to treat Polycystic Kidney Disease

Northwestern investigator Paul DeCaen, PhD will be supported through a multi-year drug discovery partnership

March 26, 2021

CHICAGO — Lakeside Discovery, LLC, the collaboration between Northwestern University and Deerfield Management, will support the laboratory of Paul DeCaen, PhD in a multi-year partnership to advance new therapies for genetically driven polycystic kidney disease.

“We are excited to partner with Deerfield to progress Paul DeCaen’s project, which so clearly exemplifies the translational mission of Northwestern University,” said Alicia Loffler, Executive Director of Northwestern’s Innovation and New Ventures Office.

DeCaen, a member of the Department of Pharmacology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, has made seminal contributions to the field of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) over the past ten years. DeCaen’s lab works to develop a structural and functional understanding of how the mutations that cause ADPKD cause disease, along with new methods of identifying potential therapeutics to improve outcomes for patients.

“This initiative has a clear vision toward making an impact in a clinical indication with defined genetic causes and a need for new therapeutic approaches to meet the needs of patients,” said William Slattery, Partner at Deerfield.

“Lakeside Discovery is thrilled to support such a passionate and dedicated investigator as Dr. DeCaen,” said Eric Schiffhauer, PhD., the Scientific Collaboration Director for the Lakeside/Northwestern collaboration “We are looking forward to working with Paul to translate his molecular understanding into therapeutic benefit for patients with ADPKD.”

Lakeside Discovery partners academicians with a team of seasoned drug discovery experts in a new model for therapeutic innovation. Applicants submit project proposals, then partner with drug-discovery experts to develop a multi-year, milestone-driven workplan and budget.

The Lakeside Discovery program is designed to support investigators from early stages of drug discovery through to an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA. Project approval and guidance is provided by a Joint Steering Committee of Northwestern and Deerfield members. For approved projects like DeCaen’s, a joint Lakeside-Northwestern project team executes the multi-year project plan toward the clinic.

About Lakeside Discovery
Lakeside Discovery was formed in 2018 with the goal of accelerating the translation of transformative biomedical technologies. Deerfield is providing up to $65 million in targeted funding and development expertise to advance promising Northwestern research.