Takeda, HemoShear collaborate to develop drugs for liver diseases

The partnership will use the HemoShear’s Reveal-Tx proprietary disease modeling platform, which applies principles of physiological blood flow to tissue derived from patients.

The platform will help drug candidates to study at human concentrations, in addition to offering significant insights into complex pathophysiological pathways by replicating human disease with more accuracy.

Under the deal, HemoShear will secure upfront payments and R&D funding and Takeda will receive exclusive access to HemoShear’s proprietary disease modeling platform to discover and develop advanced therapeutics for specific liver diseases.

HemoShear is also provided with an option to secure milestone payments of around $470m and royalties.

NASH is a chronic liver disease that is affecting around 16 million people in the US. It is characterized by inflammation and excessive fat accumulation in the liver, which may result in fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver cancer and eventually liver failure.

Takeda GI drug discovery unit head Dr Gareth Hicks said: “The ability to study pathophysiology in a human multi-cell system is crucial for our understanding of disease and how to develop best-in-class therapies.

“We see the HemoShear platform as an integral component in our overall liver disease strategy that focuses on a ‘human first’ approach to the identification and validation of novel targets in NASH and other liver diseases.”

HemoShear CEO Jim Powers said: “From the beginning, Takeda has recognized the value and potential of our platform and its ability to identify and validate therapeutic targets in liver diseases."