UCL and Takeda to identify targets for neurodegenerative diseases

University College London (UCL) and Takeda are to work together to identify and validate novel target genes for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

The collaboration will focus on mechanistic approaches for the identification of genes or signalling pathways that modify neurodegenerative disease processes affecting neuronal health. It will initially run for a three-year period and 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 UK.

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.”

Developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases requires expertise from academia and industry

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 central nervous system (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.

The collaboration includes support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre. 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 therapeutics with our research at UCL but importantly focuses on projects with huge experimental medicine potential.”