Monash & Takeda Take On Gastrointestinal Disease

The research alliance between Monash and Takeda will investigate nano-medicine for gastrointestinal diseases, among other projects.

AsianScientist (Dec. 18, 2014) – The Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS), Monash University in Melbourne, Australia and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) have formed a strategic research alliance to develop new medicines to address significant unmet medical needs in gastroenterology.

Several gastrointestinal diseases and disorders in humans remain poorly understood and inadequately treated. Irritable bowel syndrome, abdominal pain, chronic itch, severe constipation and diarrhea are examples of some of the common and debilitating disorders that afflict millions of people worldwide and that will be the focus of the research alliance.

Funding from Takeda will enable MIPS and Takeda scientists to work together to research the mechanisms that underlie these diseases and develop new and highly innovative approaches for their treatment.

Professor Nigel Bunnett (Deputy Director, MIPS), who together with Dr. Daniel Poole, also from MIPS, will lead the three-year research program, said gastrointestinal diseases are a major cause of human suffering.

“There is no cure for many gastrointestinal diseases and current treatments are either inadequate or have major side-effects. If we can understand the mechanisms that trigger these diseases we can go on to develop effective drugs to treat them,” Bunnett said.

“Monash possesses the expertise, technology and materials at its research facilities necessary to conduct drug discovery, research and pre-clinical pharmaceutical development activities into gastrointestinal diseases,” he said.

Bunnett said the research program will build on work by MIPS to better understand the causes of disorders of gastrointestinal function and sensation and could potentially lead to powerful therapies for digestive and sensory diseases.

“A major thrust of the work will be to make use of our expertise in nano-medicine to deliver drugs to the source of disease within the body,” he said.

“Takeda’s gastroenterology (GI) Drug Discovery Unit is a highly specialized research team that works collaboratively with academic and industry partners. The team is actively seeking to leverage the best scientific and pharmaceutical expertise all over the world,” said Dr. Tetsuyuki Maruyama, General Manager of the Pharmaceutical Research Division at Takeda.

“We are so pleased to work with Professor Bunnett and his team who have a proven track record for collaborative delivery of clinical candidates. Together, we will advance GI research much faster than working alone, ultimately bringer greater benefit to patients sooner.”

The collaboration between Monash and Takeda will focus on drug discovery, research and development of pharmaceutical products on potential therapeutic targets to treat gastrointestinal diseases and disorders.

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Source: Monash University; Photo: Hey Paul Studios/Flickr/CC.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

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