Takeda, BioMotiv Partner On Immunology, Inflammation, Cardio-Metabolic Diseases
By Cyndi Root
Takeda and BioMotiv have announced a partnership to develop therapeutic candidates in the areas of immunology, inflammation, and cardio-metabolic diseases. The collaboration, and Takeda’s financial investment in BioMotiv, was announced in a joint press release. The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development, a $250 million national initiative for advancing medicine, is associated with BioMotiv and will play a role in achieving the goals of this new partnership. Tetsuyuki Maruyama, General Manager of Takeda’s Pharmaceutical Research Division, said, “Participation in the Harrington Project offers an important opportunity to stay closely connected to physician-patient dialog, and work with a broader community of individuals committed to truly impactful medical innovation.”
Takeda and BioMotiv Agreement
BioMotiv is an accelerator company for the Harrington Project for Discovery & Development. The Harrington Project focuses on bringing laboratory discoveries to patients by securing capital and mediating collaborations. Its tripartite collaboration includes the Harrington Discovery Institute, the Innovation Support Center, and BioMotiv.
Takeda made its agreement with BioMotiv, a commercial company, investing $25 million over five years. The agreement allows Takeda access to programs sourced by BioMotiv through the Harrington Project and others. The strategic partnership intends to focus on a few therapeutics areas to begin with.
Baiju R. Shah, CEO of BioMotiv, said, “This strategic relationship with Takeda provides for a seamless continuum of expertise to aggressively advance physician- scientist derived therapeutic innovations through proof of concept and into clinical development and eventual commercialization.”
The Harrington Project
The Harrington Project for Discovery and Development was founded in 2012 and focuses on multi-disciplinary collaborations. It provides physician-scientists with funding opportunities in translational research and clinical practice. Recently, the organization, BioMotiv, and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announced that it awarded funding to researchers from Ohio State and Emory University for Alzheimer’s disease drug discovery projects.
Takeda Activities
Recently, Takeda and Orexigen announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved Contrave (naltrexone HCI and bupropion HCI) for weight management. In August 2014, the FDA approved Velcade (bortezomib) for the retreatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Takeda actively seeks partnerships with commercial companies, universities, and non-profits. Recent partnership agreements include those with ASKA and Affymax.