OSAKA, Japan & SAN DIEGO & STOCKHOLM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (“Takeda”) (TSE: 4502), Karolinska Institutet (“KI”) and The Structural Genomics Consortium (“SGC”) today announced a combined pre-competitive and proprietary collaboration to discover and validate new potential intervention points for the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
The agreement establishes a translational medicine research team of scientists and clinicians from Takeda, Karolinska University Hospital and SGC, which will develop advanced translational disease models from patient-derived tissue samples from a large and well-characterized IBD patient cohort. These industry-standard assays will be used to test high quality chemical probes from the SGC, as well as compounds from Takeda, allowing scientists to interrogate previously unexplored cellular targets and pathways in these diseases of substantial need, including Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn’s Disease (CD).
"At Takeda, we take a patient centric and ‘human first’ research approach that focuses our thinking on unmet patient needs and prioritizes studies in human tissues to advance our understanding of the biology of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases,” said Gareth Hicks, Ph.D., Head of the GI Drug Discovery Unit at Takeda. “Our partnership with scientists at The Karolinska Institutet and the SGC is a critical element of our effort toward discovering and assessing new approaches to the treatment of IBD and we are proud to work together in our shared commitment to these patients."
Under the terms of the agreement, Takeda will provide funding for these research studies over a three-year period. In the pre-competitive arm of the collaboration, KI, SGC and Takeda will make all reagents and knowledge available to the research community without restriction on use (pending quality review) to maximize the impact of the collaboration. In the proprietary arm of the collaboration, study outcomes will be exclusively for Takeda, and may allow the company to link patients to drug candidates, identify new patient subpopulations or assess the underlying biological mechanisms contributing to the initiation and progression of IBD.
“At Karolinska, we have created patient-based assays for systemic autoimmune disease, and the interest this project has captured among patients and industry has encouraged us to expand the program to include IBD,” said Michael Sundström, Chief Scientist for the SGC at KI. “There is a lot of enthusiasm that disease models based on primary human samples will prove superior to commonly used models since they more accurately represent the disease.”
Kristina Broliden, Head of the Department of Medicine Solna, Professor, Unit of Infectious Diseases, KI and Senior Consultant, Clinic of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, highlighted the importance of the unusual collaboration: “The collaboration with Takeda is of high strategic and medical importance to Karolinska Institutet and to the medical community in general. It is a first of its kind for us, and hopefully this combined pre-competitive and proprietary collaborative model can be expanded to additional pharmaceutical partners for additional diseases. The causes of IBD are poorly understood, and with our partnership we will combine our joint resources to tackle this growing medical problem, ultimately paving the way for the development of new, more specific and efficient treatments.”
About the SGC
The SGC is a pre-competitive public-private partnership that accelerates research in human biology and drug discovery by making all of its research output freely available to the scientific community. To achieve its mission, the organization is building an open and collaborative network of scientists: the SGC has active research facilities at six leading academic institutions across the globe (Toronto-Canada, Oxford-UK, UNICAMP-Brazil, Karolinska-Sweden, UNC Chapel Hill-USA and Frankfurt-Germany), and SGC scientists collaborate with more than 300 researchers in academia and industry. The SGC is a registered charity (number 1097737) that receives funds from AbbVie, Bayer Pharma AG, Boehringer Ingelheim, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Eshelman Institute for Innovation, Genome Canada, Innovative Medicines Initiative (EU/EFPIA), Janssen, Merck & Co., Novartis Pharma AG, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation, Pfizer, São Paulo Research Foundation-FAPESP, Takeda and Wellcome Trust. For more information, visit www.thesgc.org.
About Karolinska Institutet
Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Its vision is to significantly contribute to the improvement of human health. Karolinska Institutet accounts for over 40 percent of the medical academic research conducted in Sweden and offers the country´s broadest range of education in medicine and health sciences. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet selects the Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine.
Takeda’s Commitment to Gastroenterology
More than 70 million people worldwide are impacted by gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, which can be complex, debilitating and life-changing.1 Takeda is driven to improving the lives of patients with GI diseases through innovative medicines, dedicated patient disease management support and the evolution of the healthcare environment. Takeda is leading in gastroenterology through the delivery of innovative medicines in areas associated with high unmet needs, such as inflammatory bowel disease, GI acid-related diseases and GI motility disorders. Our GI research & development team is also exploring solutions in celiac disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), as well as scientific advancements through microbiome therapies. With more than 25 years of experience in this area, our broad approach to treating many diseases that impact the GI system and our global network of collaborators, Takeda aims to advance how patients manage their disease.
About Takeda Pharmaceutical Company
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited is a global, research and development-driven pharmaceutical company committed to bringing better health and a brighter future to patients by translating science into life-changing medicines. Takeda focuses its R&D efforts on oncology, gastroenterology and central nervous system therapeutic areas plus vaccines. Takeda conducts R&D both internally and with partners to stay at the leading edge of innovation. New innovative products, especially in oncology and gastroenterology, as well as our presence in Emerging Markets, fuel the growth of Takeda. More than 30,000 Takeda employees are committed to improving quality of life for patients, working with our partners in health care in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit http://www.takeda.com/news.
Takeda’s Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements include all statements other than statements of historical fact, including plans, strategies and expectations for the future, statements regarding the expected timing of filings and approvals relating to the transaction, the expected timing of the completion of the transaction, the ability to complete the transaction or to satisfy the various closing conditions, future revenues and profitability from or growth or any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Statements made in the future tense, and words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “project,” “continue,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “pro forma,” “intend,” “potential,” “target,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “seek,” “assume,” “will,” “may,” “should,” and similar expressions are intended to qualify as forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by management that are believed to be reasonable, though they are inherently uncertain and difficult to predict. Investors and security holders are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or experience to differ materially from that expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Some of these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: required regulatory approvals for the transaction may not be obtained in a timely manner, if at all; the conditions to closing of the transaction may not be satisfied; competitive pressures and developments; applicable laws and regulations; the success or failure of product development programs; actions of regulatory authorities and the timing thereof; changes in exchange rates; and claims or concerns regarding the safety or efficacy of marketed products or product candidates in development.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release, and neither Structural Genomics Consortium, Karolinska Institutet nor Takeda undertake any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or circumstances after the date of the forward-looking statement. If one or more of these statements is updated or corrected, investors and others should not conclude that additional updates or corrections will be made.
1 Digestive Health. University of Miami Hospital. http://umiamihospital.com/service-lines/digestive-health. Accessed April 7, 2017.
