What We Are Looking For

CoSolve is a virtual challenge within the AstraZeneca Open Innovation portal where we publicly post challenges looking for innovative solutions within biotech and pharmaceutical. Interested parties are invited to submit a brief description of their solution for review.

Finalists will then be selected to participate in the Challenge Week – an intensive week where they will pitch their ideas and work with AstraZeneca scientists to transform their idea into a work plan. At the end of Challenge Week, we will put collaboration agreements in place with specified milestones and the winning projects can begin quickly.

Our Technical Specification

Novel solutions that address AstraZeneca’s five challenges:

1) Novel molecular insights into metabolic disease

The goal:

Scientific advances have revealed the interplay and potential causal relationships between these diseases, however, we need to better unravel the underlying causes of these pathogeneses at the molecular level to design the next generation of therapeutic approaches towards a cure, rather than treatment.

The solution:

We are seeking collaborators with novel molecular insight into the pathogenesis of metabolic disease that reverses hepatic, cardiovascular, and/or renal complications.

2) Gut microbiome modification to influence renal dysfunction

The goal:

The gut microbiome plays an integral role in supporting host metabolism and maintaining immune homeostasis both locally in the gut and systemically. Understanding the mechanisms regulating the gut-kidney axis is important for both health and disease.

The solution:

We are seeking novel methods that can modify the microbiome or its products to treat or prevent renal diseases. These may include (but are not limited to) clinical samples from interesting patient populations or innovative technologies and potential therapies.

3) Molecular strategies to minimize off-target toxicities of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs)

The goal:

To identify molecular strategies for the effective development of ADCs with medium to low potency cytotoxic payloads, increased therapeutic index, and decreased off-target toxicity.

The solution:

We are seeking proposals that may address the following areas: uptake in normal tissue, off-target toxicity, delivery.

4) Innovative vaccine technologies to enable the development of a universal HRV vaccine

The goal:

To develop a universal vaccine that covers >90% of HRV serotypes in each of the HRV groups (A, B, and C).

The solution:

We are seeking an innovative vaccine technology and/or antigen display approach that elicits a potent, broad, and durable immune response to enable a universal HRV vaccine.

5) Novel solutions for the non-invasive detection and monitoring of NASH

The goal:

To develop reliable, non-invasive diagnostic tools that would effectively address an unmet medical need for the detection of early-stage NASH thereby preventing progression of the disease to more severe forms.

The solution:

We are seeking novel solutions that enable the non-invasive diagnosis and monitoring of NASH disease progression/regression. The ideal solution would deliver impact in the near-medium term.

Deadline

January 31, 2022

Our Experience

AstraZeneca has had previous success working with startups and early-stage biotechs around the world.

How We Will Work With You

AstraZeneca will give qualified collaborators access to its knowledge and resources, and you will be working side-by-side with some of its top experts across our R&D focus areas and drug discovery and development. They will provide funding to enable a project to achieve initial data-driven milestones and continued collaboration will be evaluated for projects on an individual basis (data-driven).

Area of Interest