Eisai and Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have entered into a research collaboration agreement aimed at developing new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative conditions.
Over the next five years, the partners will aim to create multiple novel therapeutic candidates and identify novel biomarkers of neurodegeneration.
The collaboration combines Washington University’s expertise in research focused on neurodegenerative diseases with the Japan-based pharma’s experience in drug discovery and development.
Under the terms of the agreement, Eisai will have the option rights to develop and commercialise any compounds and biomarkers that meet certain criteria in terms of research and development milestones.
In the case that the company chooses to exercise these options, it will pay Washington University milestone payments and royalties on future sales of each licensed compound.
Neurodegeneration occurs when cells in the nervous system stop working or die. Most neurodegenerative conditions, such as AD – which will be a major area of focus for the new drug discovery collaboration – PD, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis, worsen over time and have no cure.
Washington University researchers are already leading the phase 2/3 Tau NexGen study under the international Knight Family Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (Knight Family DIAN-TU) to evaluate drugs targeting the tau protein, which is closely associated with neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s, alongside anti-amyloid drugs.
Participants in the trial’s experimental group are receiving a combination of two investigational drugs made by Eisai: the tau drug E2814 and the amyloid drug lecanemab, which has shown promising results in clinical trials.
“Eisai and Washington University have a long history of shared goals to develop better treatments for patients with AD,” said Randall Bateman, the Charles F and Joanne Knight distinguished professor of neurology and director of the DIAN-TU trials.
Commenting on the latest collaboration between the two organisations, Dr Teiji Kimura, academia and industry alliance officer, deep human biology learning office of Eisai, said: “Patients living with neurodegenerative diseases, including AD and PD, struggle with critical unmet medical needs, which is the reason neurology is a key therapeutic area for Eisai.
“By collaborating with world-leading research institutions such as Washington University in St. Louis, Eisai is working to fulfil our human health care mission and provide potential new and targeted disease-modifying therapies with the ultimate goal of achieving a world free of neurodegenerative disease.”