The search for new drugs to treat cancer, diabetes, depression and many other diseases often starts with basic research and scientists working to understand the fundamentals of our bodies’ chemistry. That work can – eventually – lead to patents, research papers and licensing agreements. Even then, it takes time for those steps to produce actual medicines, let alone experimental trials or FDA approval to market the drug.
Now, Stanford and Takeda Pharmaceuticals are reportedly all set to collaborate on medicines of the future. This new partnership between Stanford and one of the worlds’ oldest and largest drug makers, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd., could help speed up the process of bringing drugs from discovery to market.
The Stanford Alliance for Innovative Medicines, or Stanford AIM, will bring Stanford and Takeda scientists into close collaboration to share ideas, know-how and technical acumen. AIM expects to begin taking proposals from Stanford labs starting in October and finalize its first run of projects by early next year.
“Stanford AIM’s purpose is to accelerate the translation of Stanford’s cutting-edge discoveries into real treatments for human disease,” said Chaitan Khosla, a professor of chemistry and chemical engineering and director of Stanford ChEM-H (Chemistry, Engineering, and Medicine for Human Health
), which will oversee the program. “The collaboration also ‘de-risks’ projects born at Stanford, making it much easier to license them out for further development.”The partners expect to begin taking proposals from Stanford lab teams in October, which will include objectives against which to measure progress and success during key phases of research. Together, Takeda and Stanford will identify the most promising novel, innovative projects. Upon project selection, Takeda will apply its best-in-class capabilities – including scientific and clinical research and operations – to develop the pathway or platform technology.
Stanford will retain all intellectual property from Stanford AIM-supported research.
“Takeda’s alliance with Stanford demonstrates our commitment to advancing medicines as quickly and efficiently as possible – from drug discovery to development and ultimately to patients,” said Juan Harrison, vice president and head of strategic academic alliances, Center for External Innovation, Takeda. “We look forward to combining the intellectual capital of Takeda and Stanford scientists, motivating both to come together as peers, in order to deliver medicines that represent real and meaningful benefits for patients.”
This type of collaboration advances the validation of projects born at Stanford and improves the potential for discoveries to be developed and licensed, while exposing Takeda researchers to the latest biological discoveries and innovative chemical platforms from a leading research university. The three-year term of the collaboration will support four to eight projects running concurrently at a given time.
