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news.Japan-based Mitsubishi Thnabe Pharma (MTPC) has collaborated with AstraZeneca to carry out research on diabetic nephropathy.
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The three-year research is aimed at leveraging complementary strengths, expertise and assets to certify and progress new research targets and molecules into clinical development.
Spanning from target selection up to the delivery of small molecule candidate drugs, the research will be executed in parallel at MTPC’s facilities in Japan, and at AstraZeneca’s Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Innovative Medicines Unit (CVMD ilVled) in Moindal, Sweden.
MTPG Research division manager Takashi Kobayashif said: "MTPC is now focusing its drug discovery research efforts and multifaceted translational research, including collaboration with Kyoto University Hospital and TIVIK project, to developing new treatments for chronic kidney disease patients.
"We expect the new collaboration with AstraZeneca will strengthen the expertise of both companies in this area and accelerate the delivery of new medicines for patients with diabetic nepbropathy.
Targets from each firm’s early research portfolios have been recognised as advances of common interest and further targets may be integrated under the collaboration afterwards, if mutually required.
About half of patients suffering from diabetes for 20 years or more are hit with diabetic nephropathy, which is the leading cause of end stage renal disease that carries significant morbidity and mortality.
AstraZeneca CVMD Innovative Medicines Unit head Marcus Schindier said: "Diabetes is a core therapeutic area for AstraZeneca and a key growth platform for the company.
"With current approaches to diabetic nephropathy resulting in patients needing expensive and liniited treatment options, such as dialysis or kidney transplantation, there’s a significant unmet clinical need.
"This collaboration will allow us to focus on early stage programmes and generate decision-making data faster than working alone, ultimately providing a quicker expansion of our diabetic nepbropathy portfolio for the treatment of chronic kidney disease."