Atlanta, GA and Toronto, ON – Comend, a software company building solutions for Patient
Advocacy Groups (PAGs), and Odylia Therapeutics, a nonprofit drug development organization dedicated to advancing treatments for rare diseases, are excited to announce a strategic partnership aimed at transforming the rare disease research ecosystem. The partnership seeks to streamline drug development for PAGs through launch of the Comend platform. Last year, Odylia announced The Odylia Collective initiative, a centralized marketplace to ensure critical resources are findable and accessible for PAGs and other members of the rare disease research community. The Odylia Collective concept will merge with the Comend platform, with the initial Comend platform launch focusing on connecting PAGs with the business partners and vendor resources available in the marketplace to aid in development of new treatments. The platform seeks to translate research into impact by enabling patient groups to more effectively strategize, collaborate, and showcase program progress.
The collaboration signifies a shared commitment to addressing the challenges inherent in the rare disease space. Odylia has a rich history of empowering PAGs and lowering the barrier of entry to the drug development process. The Odylia Collective was chosen as a top 5 finalist for the 2024 Amgen Prize. Comend and Odylia merged parallel efforts in late 2024 with the aim of launching the platform formally in April 2025.
This merged effort seeks to make a significant difference in the rare disease community. There are over 10,000 rare diseases with treatments for less than 500 of them. By combining efforts, Odylia and Comend are helping to narrow this stunning gap – a gap that impacts one in ten people around the world. The Comend and Odylia partnership will provide new tools for patient groups to directly pursue drug development for their diseases and drive investment in treatments they prioritize.
“This partnership reflects a mutual dedication to tackling the complexities of rare disease drug development by fostering innovation and expanding access to critical resources.” said Ashley Winslow, CEO and CSO for Odylia Therapeutics. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Comend to expand the reach and impact of Odylia, bringing much needed resources and hope to the rare disease community.”
The partnership unites Comend’s intuitive technology solutions for patient groups with Odylia’s dedication and expertise in addressing the challenges of rare disease drug development. Comend’s marketplace helps PAGs identify, evaluate, and partner with service providers like CROs, academic groups, and drug discovery organizations, accelerating drug development timelines by as much as several years through more informed decision making. This acceleration will change the lives of those impacted by rare diseases.
“Comend and Odylia Therapeutics share a vision for the next generation of drug development,” said Albert Wang, CEO of Comend. “We are thrilled to bring our complementary skill sets together to deliver sustainable impact to the thousands of rare diseases in search of treatment options.”
The broader Comend platform is designed to streamline drug development for PAGs through this marketplace of service providers, project and asset management features, and organization profiles that showcase progress and opportunities to donors, scientists, industry, and more.
The partnership between Comend and Odylia Therapeutics exemplifies the power of collaboration in addressing the unmet needs of the rare disease community. By leveraging their combined resources and expertise, the two organizations are poised to revolutionize PAG access to the drug development process and overcome barriers to transformative treatment for people living with rare diseases worldwide.
—
To learn more about Comend, including how your PAG can join for free, visit comend.io.
Media Contact:
For inquiries, please contact:
Odylia Media- info@odylia.org
For partnership or investor interest, please email albert@comendcare.com.
About Odylia Therapeutics
Odylia is a nonprofit biotech focused on bringing life-altering and life-saving treatments to those with rare diseases. With expertise in both preclinical and clinical drug development for rare diseases, Odylia seeks to change how drugs are developed by focusing on the science and patient needs rather than the commercial potential. Odylia partners with patient communities, researchers, clinicians, industry and financial donors to bring promising therapeutics to clinical trials. In addition to three gene therapies in development, Odylia partners with rare disease patient groups, early-stage gene therapy companies and academic researchers to further rare disease drug development efforts through Odylia’s Brydge Solutions initiative. Patient groups, companies and researchers interested in learning more about Odylia Therapeutics’ services can email info@odylia.org and follow Odylia on LinkedIn (Odylia Therapeutics), Instagram (@OdyliaTx), and YouTube (@OdyliaTx). For additional information, visit odylia.org.
About Comend:
Comend is a software company based in Toronto, Canada, dedicated to accelerating precision medicines by empowering PAGs.
Their first product, Librarey, is a crowdsourced platform for discovering and sharing resources for rare diseases and disabilities. Librarey is completely accessible to the community at no cost. It launched in the fall of 2022 and has been used by thousands of families.
Comend’s core platform is designed to centralize rare disease patient groups and their research assets to streamline discovery for drug developers. The platform further aims to advance the state of translational research in rare diseases through a network of partners, data sharing tools, and more. The platform is preparing to launch next month with a community of founding PAGs.
Comend is backed by Character VC, Drive Capital, and others.
For partnership or investor interest, please email albert@comendcare.com.
###