DZNE and Eisai Enter Into Research Collaboration Agreement Aiming for Novel Drug Discovery for Neurodegenerative Disorders

Mar 17, 2021 11:05 JST

Source: Eisai

TOKYO, Mar 17, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Deutsches Zentrum fur Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen and Eisai Co., Ltd. today announced that both parties have entered into a research collaboration agreement aiming to create potential novel treatments for neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD) which modulate immune competence in neurons and glia cells.

DZNE is a world-leading interdisciplinary public research organization constituted with ten research sites in Germany that investigates methods for prevention, diagnosis and treatment against neurodegenerative diseases. The collaboration will incorporate DZNE's expertise in the fundamental and clinical research with Eisai's abundant experience in drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases to accelerate development of novel drug candidates.

Prof. Pierluigi Nicotera, Chairman of the DZNE's Executive Board commented: "We are pleased to have formed this collaboration with Eisai, which has an outstanding track record and a company-wide commitment to providing innovative treatments in the neurodegenerative disorders field. We think that this collaboration will be able to accelerate creation of new treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, including those for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The DZNE will contribute knowledge and technical expertise in studying disease processes combined with our translational, patient-oriented approach that involves close interaction between fundamental and clinical research."

Dr. Teiji Kimura, Vice President, Chief Discovery Officer of the Eisai Neurology Business Group, commented: "Neurodegenerative diseases including AD comprise a disease area with high unmet medical needs. DZNE has many world-leading scientists in this field and we expect to create new disease-modifying therapies for those suffering from neurodegenerative disorders by conducting research for immune and metabolic incompetence in neurons and glia cells."

About Deutsches Zentrum fur Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE)

The DZNE investigates all aspects of neurodegenerative diseases in order to develop novel approaches of prevention, treatment, and health care. It is comprised of ten sites across Germany and cooperates closely with universities, university hospitals, and other research institutions on a national and international level. The DZNE is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. For further information, please visit https://www.dzne.de/en/

About Eisai Co., Ltd.

Eisai Co., Ltd. is a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. We define our corporate mission as "giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides," which we call our human health care (hhc) philosophy. With approximately 10,000 employees working across our global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to realize our hhc philosophy by delivering innovative products to address unmet medical needs, with a particular focus in our strategic areas of Neurology and Oncology. As a global pharmaceutical company, our mission extends to patients around the world through working with key stakeholders to improve access to medicines in developing and emerging countries. For further information on Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit https://www.eisai.com.

About Eisai Neurology External Innovation

Eisai's Global External Innovation team, as part of the Neurology Business Group, actively pursues novel approaches to medicines discovery through a growing network collaborations with external partners. Our partnership models are focused on the achievement of mutual goals that maximize sharing of complementary know-how, expertise and capabilities. Our ultimate goal is to advance new, ground-breaking science to identify and develop novel therapeutic concepts in neurodegeneration research that will accelerate innovative medicines discovery for the benefit of patients.

Source: Eisai
Sectors: BioTech, Healthcare & Pharm