UCL and Takeda Announce a New Research Partnership to Identify Novel Therapeutic Targets for Neurodegenerative Diseases
October 13 2015 - 07:01PM
Business Wire
UCL (University College London) and Takeda Pharmaceutical
Company Limited (TSE:4502) today announced a new research
collaboration to identify and validate novel target genes for the
treatment of neurodegenerative disease.
This collaboration will focus on mechanistic approaches for the
identification of genes or signalling pathways that modify
neurodegenerative disease processes affecting neuronal health (for
example motor neurone disease (MND or ALS), Huntington’s disease
and Parkinson’s disease). The collaboration, which includes support
from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) University
College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, will initially
run for a three-year period. It will be carried out by Takeda
Cambridge Limited, Takeda’s research unit based in Cambridge, UK.
It is one of the largest university partnerships formed by Takeda
in the United Kingdom.
Dr. Tetsuyuki Maruyama, General Manager of Takeda’s
Pharmaceutical Research Division said: “At Takeda, we work with
partners to accelerate innovation. We are looking forward to
collaborating with UCL’s world-class researchers. This cooperation
will help us to identify and validate novel therapeutic pathways in
central nervous system diseases, which is one of Takeda’s core
therapeutic areas – ultimately leading to new treatments for
patients suffering from neurodegenerative disorders.”
Professor Nicholas Wood, Neuroscience Programme Director at the
NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research
Centre, said: “I am delighted and excited with the potential of
this initiative. It combines Takeda’s strengths in central nervous
system (CNS) therapeutics with our research at UCL but importantly
focuses on projects with huge experimental medicine potential".
Professor Alan Thompson, Dean of the Faculty of Brain Sciences,
UCL said: “Developing new treatments for devastating
neurodegenerative diseases is an absolutely essential but very
challenging goal and requires the complementary expertise of
academia and industry, if it is to be achieved. This UCL-Takeda
collaboration represents just such a partnership and as Dean of the
Faculty of Brain Sciences, I am delighted to see it evolving so
well.”
UCL is a world leading university in CNS research with a world
class reputation in the field of neurodegeneration and rare
neurological disorders. UCL’s Institute of Neurology is a centre of
significant investment for dementia research with a highly engaged
and interactive faculty.
Takeda Cambridge is a subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical
Company Limited, a research-based global pharmaceutical company. As
the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the global
leaders of the industry, Takeda is committed to strive towards
better health for people worldwide through leading innovation in
medicine. Takeda Cambridge is Takeda’s research unit in the UK
focused on target identification and drug discovery, with CNS being
one of its key focus areas.
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For UCL:Margaret-Anne Orgill, +44
(0)7572 602345Media Relations Manager, UCL
Enterprisem.orgill@ucl.ac.ukorFor Takeda
Cambridge Limited:Jim Sutcliffe, +44 (0)1223
477920jim.sutcliffe@takeda.com