BioSmart Brief
The Japan Times
12-16-15
Takeda, Kyoto University start joint research on iPS drugs targeting six maladies
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and Kyoto University’s Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, or CiRA, said Tuesday that they have started joint research on the development of new drugs using induced pluripotent stem cells.
Initially, the joint research, taking place at Takeda’s laboratory in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, will cover six diseases — cancer, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, neurodegenerative disorders, intractable muscle diseases and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Takeda and CiRA plan to start clinical trials within three years at the earliest.
The number of diseases covered by the joint research will be increased from 10 to 12 next spring or later, with more than 100 researchers, including those from outside Takeda and CiRA, to be involved.
Takeda will provide ¥20 billion to cover research costs over 10 years.
At a news conference, Kyoto University professor Shinya Yamanaka, also head of CiRA, said that the joint research provides the best opportunity for clinical applications of drugs based on iPS cells, adding, “I hope to help patients as soon as possible.”
Yamanaka won the 2012 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for inventing iPS cells, which can develop into almost any kind of tissue.
The Japan Times
12-16-15
Takeda, Kyoto University start joint research on iPS drugs targeting six maladies
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and Kyoto University’s Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, or CiRA, said Tuesday that they have started joint research on the development of new drugs using induced pluripotent stem cells.
Initially, the joint research, taking place at Takeda’s laboratory in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, will cover six diseases — cancer, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, neurodegenerative disorders, intractable muscle diseases and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Takeda and CiRA plan to start clinical trials within three years at the earliest.
The number of diseases covered by the joint research will be increased from 10 to 12 next spring or later, with more than 100 researchers, including those from outside Takeda and CiRA, to be involved.
Takeda will provide ¥20 billion to cover research costs over 10 years.
At a news conference, Kyoto University professor Shinya Yamanaka, also head of CiRA, said that the joint research provides the best opportunity for clinical applications of drugs based on iPS cells, adding, “I hope to help patients as soon as possible.”
Yamanaka won the 2012 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for inventing iPS cells, which can develop into almost any kind of tissue.