Takeda Pharmaceutical (TYO:4502) will use biochemical discovery technology from Metabolon to find new therapeutic targets and biomarkers.
No financial terms of the research alliance were disclosed. But Metabolon said that the Japanese pharma giant will integrate Metabolon’s biochemical technology into Takeda’s R&D programs with the goal of accelerating development.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Metabolon’s platform technology discovers biomarkers, chemical signatures that indicate disease. Identifying biomarkers and finding the corresponding metabloic pathways can speed drug discovery and development. Finding these biomarkers also opens the door for personalized medicine that matches a therapy to a patient’s disease. Metabolon’s biomarker discovery and analysis business, Metabolytics, processed more than 50,000 samples for more than 350 clients in 2011.
Metabolon, based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, has already used its technology to develop and commercialize a test for type 2 diabetes. The company is also developing a prostate cancer test. No therapeutic targets were disclosed for the Takeda partnership. But Metabolon said its technology will be used to discover and validate therapeutic targets. Novel biomarkers identified by the technology could be developed for clinical applications.
“We believe that integrating metabolomic profiling into Takeda’s R&D programs may lead to novel therapies and more informed decisions,” Metabolon CEO John Ryals said in a statement.
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