The collaboration will involve Charles River supporting Eisai scientists from Japan, USA and the UK on a range of synthetic and medicinal chemistry projects, including those seeking novel treatments for neurological diseases. This is an example of Eisai’s commitment to Open Innovation and novel collaborative working practices.
Charles River scientists will also participate in a medicinal chemistry project to discover new antimalarial drugs with activity against drug resistant strains of disease, which could potentially address this area of unmet medical need in malaria treatment. This work is in collaboration with the GHIT Fund (Global Health Innovative Technology Fund) and Medicines for Malaria Venture, and builds upon earlier research by Eisai which has focused on malaria and neglected diseases to improve access to medicines in developing countries.
Eisai EMEA president & CEO Gary Hendler said: "We are pleased to work in collaboration with Charles River Laboratories and look forward to welcoming their expert scientists into our research and development facilities in the coming weeks.
"This agreement will see Charles River scientists explore a number of important disease areas, and malaria could hardly be a more important starting point."
Charles River Laboratories corporate senior vice president for global discovery services Emily Hickey said: "We expect our collaboration with Eisai will be the first of many. We’re excited to develop creative solutions, with Eisai and other partners, by bringing our scientific expertise to their site, thereby streamlining their research processes.
"Each insourcing partnership is unique, and we have the ability to tailor our approach for the specific needs of each project."
Almost half the world’s population is at risk of malaria, a life-threatening disease. While malaria is preventable and curable, some population groups are more vulnerable to the disease, including children under 5 years of age and pregnant women.
Over the past 15 years, great strides have been made in the control of this disease, yet it continues to infect over 200 million and takes the lives of almost half a million people each year, mainly young children in Africa. One of the major challenges facing malaria treatment is the reported emergence of resistance to the current gold standard treatment, emphasizing the urgent need for novel medicines.
This collaboration underscores Eisai’s human health care (hhc) mission, the company’s commitment to innovative solutions in disease prevention, cure and care for the health and well-being of people worldwide. Eisai is committed to the therapeutic areas of oncology and neuroscience to address the unmet medical needs of patients and their families.