San Diego, CA -- (SBWire) -- 11/15/2011 --Hospital Medical Center, will be giving a keynote presentation entitled “Breakthroughs in understanding the pathogenesis of the new allergic disease eosinophilic esophagitis and implications for drug development,” at the Allergy Drug Discovery and Development Conference to be held on January 30-31, 2012 in San Diego, CA by GTC.

Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the esophagus that is compounded by both genetic predisposition and aberrant responses to environmental antigens, particularly those that are food derived. Data have indicated a unique transcriptional response in vivo that defines EoE and that appears to be partially attributable to the TH2 cytokine IL-13. Moreover, a number of genetic risk variants in proinflammatory and epithelial cell genes associate with EoE susceptibility, demonstrating novel heritable mechanisms that contribute to disease risk.

Marc Rothenberg will discuss recent advances in the intrinsic (genetic) and extrinsic (environmental) components and how they lead to the pathogenesis of EoE. Special attention will be placed on novel diagnostic platforms and therapeutic targets and approaches.

Marc E. Rothenberg, MD, PhD is also a Professor of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. At the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s, one of the largest pediatric medical and research centers in the United States, Rothenberg manages a research program focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of allergic disorders. At the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Rothenberg directs the Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders (CCED), an international leader in research and care for patients with eosinophilic conditions.

Rothenberg has received numerous awards which include the Pharmacia Allergy Research Foundation Award for the best young investigator in the allergy field; the Young Investigator Award and the Scholar in Allergy Award from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology; the Ohio Governor’s Recognition Award; the 2007 E Mead Johnson Award from the Society of Pediatric Research; and an NIH MERIT Award in 2010 from the NIAID. He is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, Society for Pediatric Research, and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Marc Rothenberg has written over 220 articles on molecular mechanisms of allergic responses and his research has been supported by numerous sources including the National Institutes of Health, the USA Department of Defense, Human Frontier Science Program Organization, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Dana Foundation, and the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.

The inaugural Allergy Drug Discovery and Development Conference gives global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies as well as academia involved in the field of allergy an opportunity to network with high-level executives from large Pharma, directors and head scientists from top research institutes in allergy, and leaders of drug discovery and development in biotech industries. Companies and institutions include, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Phadia (Thermo Fisher Scientific), Circassia, Xencor, Ora Inc., La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology and MedImmune.

The conference is part of the Novel Immunotherapeutic Summit, which consists of 4 tracks including:

4th Immunotherapeutics and Immunomonitoring
10th Cytokines and Inflammation
Immunotherapeutics Partnering and Dealmaking