AsianScientist (Dec. 29, 2016) – Eisai Co., Ltd. and Keio University have entered into a new joint research agreement for the discovery and development of new drugs targeting dementia.
Under this joint research agreement, Eisai and Keio University will establish the Eisai-Keio Innovation Lab for Dementia (tentative name) as a base for industry-academia collaboration within Keio University’s Shinanomachi campus. The lab will be an integrated research site for clinical medicine and basic medicine, and will be staffed by experienced researchers from both organizations.
With its Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research, Keio University possesses strengths in researching medicine and medical care through unifying basic and clinical science. Keio University has also published extensively about its world-class research into human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.
Eisai, which utilizes a drug development technology that produces small molecule compounds, mid-size compounds derived from natural products and antibodies, has been active in the field of developing new dementia drugs for over 30 years. Together with information provision activities relating to Aricept® (donepezil hydrochloride), Eisai has accumulated a vast amount of experience and knowledge in the field of dementia.
At the Innovation Lab, Eisai and Keio University will bring together their respective strengths to speed up research on new drug targets and biomarkers for dementia as well as increase the probability of success in new drug discovery. The Innovation Lab will perform three functions: clinical omics analysis, data science and biological validation, which makes use of human iPS cell technology to advance the study of drug target biology.
“Dementia is one of the major social and medical issues in an aging society, and Eisai’s mission is to contribute to overcoming this issue” said Teiji Kimura, Chief Discovery Officer of the Eisai Neurology Business Group.
“The establishment of this innovation lab allows us to combine Eisai’s accumulated experience of dementia drug discovery such as Aricept® with Keio University’s supercentenarian medical research and dementia research, mutually boosting our competitive power, and culminating in an amazing opportunity to develop practical applications,” said Professor Hideyuki Okano, dean of Keio University’s School of Medicine.
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Source: Eisai Co., Ltd.; Photo: Shutterstock.
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