Takeda, Monash Partner To Develop Gastrointestinal Treatments
By Cyndi Root
Monash University, Australia's largest university, has entered into a partnership with Takeda to develop treatments for gastroenterology diseases and conditions. Takeda announced the move in a press release, stating that the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) will participate in the three-year research program led by Professor Nigel Bunnett and Dr. Daniel Poole from MIPS. Professor Bunnett said, “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.”
Takeda and Monash Agreement
Takeda and MIPS intend to investigate diagnostics and treatments for several types of gastrointestinal diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome, abdominal pain, chronic itch, constipation, and diarrhea. The research alliance of MIPS and Takeda will pursue basic science, including the mechanisms that cause the diseases. Monash’s research program already possesses previous discoveries and treatments, such as nano-medicine, which it will use in development activities. Tetsuyuki Maruyama, PhD, General Manager of the Pharmaceutical Research Division at Takeda, stated that Takeda’s gastroenterology (GI) Drug Discovery Unit is highly specialized and is best leveraged by working collaboratively with academic and industry partners.
About MIPS
The Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Science (MIPS) is a pharmaceutical sciences research program working in translational drug discovery. The Institute was established in 2008 and employs 160 scientists and 120 PhD students. The research entity began when investigators at the pharmacy program at the college developed Relenza, a flu treatment. Its research efforts include transdermal drug-delivery technology, G protein-coupled receptors, designing new cancer drugs, and forming drug-discovery partnerships for neglected tropical diseases.
Takeda Activities
Recently, Takeda partnered with Presage Biosciences, GE Healthcare, and BioMotiv. In November 2014, Takeda announced a new manufacturing strategy, shifting Leuplin (leuprorelin acetate) production to its Osaka site. The move strengthens its global manufacturing network and dedicates the Osaka plant to producing Leuplin, a treatment for prostate cancer and premenopausal breast cancer.
Recently, Takeda also announced that it was presenting data on single-agent ixazomib (MLN9708) as a maintenance therapy for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in San Francisco, CA. The company also announced it was rebranding and renaming Millennium Pharmaceuticals as Takeda Oncology.