📍 Les Diablerets | Ithemyc Project – Annual Meeting

The Ithemyc Project team gathered in Les Diablerets for the Annual Meeting, a key occasion to review the progress achieved so far and to discuss ongoing activities and upcoming challenges, as the project enters its third year of implementation.

During the meeting, Dr. Giulia Russo presented WP3 – Summaries and Latest Results, highlighting recent advances in the development and application of an in silico modelling and simulation platform designed to support innovative therapeutic strategies against mycobacterial infections.

🎯 WP3 Objectives
Throughout the project, WP3 has focused on consolidating and further developing a simulation platform capable of identifying the optimal use of promising compounds and immunotherapies, either as single agents or in combination. The overall aim is to provide robust predictive tools to enhance treatment efficacy and to support the rational design of clinical trials.

💻 The UISS-TB Platform
WP3 activities are centred on UISS-TB, an in silico simulation framework that has been progressively refined over the course of the project. The platform is based on a three-layer architecture enabling an integrated representation of host–pathogen–treatment interactions:

• Physiology layer: modelling of the immune response following exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Disease layer: description of the pathological evolution of active tuberculosis
• Treatment layer: simulation and prediction of the impact of different therapeutic strategies on disease progression

Thanks to this multi-layered approach, UISS-TB is currently used to explore complex therapeutic scenarios, assess treatment combinations, and generate quantitative evidence to support experimental and clinical decision-making.

🔬 Ongoing WP3 Activities
Current efforts include extending the model to additional Mycobacterium species, integrating innovative therapeutic approaches—such as HDT, anti-virulence compounds, immunomodulators, therapeutic vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies—and applying the platform to simulate and compare the efficacy of selected therapeutic strategies. Particular attention is given to model robustness and credibility, including from a regulatory perspective.

Overall, WP3 represents a concrete and increasingly mature contribution to leveraging computational modelling to accelerate the development of targeted and effective therapies.