A FOCUSED DRUG DISCOVERY APPROACH THAT INTEGRATES HUMAN GENETICS / DATA SCIENCE / PRECISION CHEMISTRY

Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, CEO: Haruo Naito, ¡°Eisai¡±) announced today that the Eisai Center for Genetics Guided Dementia Discovery (G2D2), a new exploratory research facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., held its opening ceremony and has begun full-scale research activities.

(Standing from left to right) Ryan Fattman, U.S. Senator for Massachusetts; Mike Belleville, patient living with dementia; Haruo Naito, Eisai CEO; Yoshito Kishi, Morris Loeb Professor of Chemistry, Harvard University; Yasushi Nakamura, Acting Consul General at Consulate General of Japan in Boston; Mark Fuller, Undersecretary for Business Growth, Executive Office of Economic Development.

 

G2D2 integrates Eisai¡¯s strengths cultivated from human genetics, data sciences and precision chemistry for the novel drug discovery approach, and this approach will focus on the immunodementia to expand Eisai¡¯s dementia pipeline beyond amyloid-beta (A¦Â) and tau. Specifically, G2D2 will leverage human genetics and human biology to attempt to discover potential innovative medicines for dementia, which target the brain¡¯s immune system.

G2D2 is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the world¡¯s leading biotechnology clusters where academic institutions and private research organizations are concentrated, and will collaborate with the world-class science. Taking advantage of the benefits of its location, The Eisai Incubator for NeuroDiscovery (e-IND) will provide space to Cambridge-based start-up/spin-out companies conducting high-risk but potentially transformative research that can impact the discovery of breakthrough neuroscience therapeutics. ?G2D2 also plans to contribute to the development of next-generation scientific leaders in the Boston and Cambridge areas through internships, training programs and postdoctoral fellowships in genetics and drug discovery science.

With the full-scale operation of G2D2, Eisai is striving to discover innovative dementia treatments using a multi-dimensional, comprehensive approaches to fulfill unmet needs and increase the benefits for patients and their families.

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Media Inquiries:?
Public Relations Department,
Eisai Co., Ltd.
+81-(0)3-3817-5120

 

[Notes to editors]
1. About Immunodementia
Drug discovery targets supported by human genetics have been demonstrated to have a higher probability of success than drug targets that are not. Large-scale genetic and other studies of Alzheimer¡¯s disease have highlighted neuro-immune regulating factors of a particular cell-type, microglia, as likely being causal in the onset of dementia. Integrating cutting-edge strengths in human genetics, data sciences and precision chemistry, G2D2 will focus on a new research theme of immunodementia, a novel genetically validated target modulating immune mechanism that treats dementia, to extend Eisai¡¯s discovery pipeline beyond targeting amyloid and tau. Under the medium-term business plan EWAY2025 currently in progress, immunodementia is a Ricchi (an area where real patient needs are unmet and Eisai can become a frontrunner) in neurology.

 

2. Eisai¡¯s Initiatives for Dementia Research
Eisai possesses experience cultivated through over 35 years of drug creation activities in the dementia area, including the development of Aricept^??as a standard treatment for Alzheimer¡¯s disease, as well as a rich development pipeline. With Tsukuba Research Laboratories as its hub, the company is working on global exploratory development of research for dementia treatments using a multi-dimensional, comprehensive approaches by following global research sites:

?Tsukuba Research Laboratories (Japan): A hub for drug discovery research with abundant experiences in small molecules for the central nervous system;
?G2D2 (U.S.): Research on Immunodementia with the strengths in human genetics, data sciences and precision chemistry;
?KAN Research Institute (Kobe, Japan): Research on glial cell based on cellular biology;
?European Knowledge Centre (Hatfield, U.K.): Open innovation drug discovery through cooperation with U.K. academia;
and
?Eisai-Keio Innovation Lab for Dementia (Japan): Brain defense mechanism research based on reverse translation.

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3. Photographs of Inside and Outside of G2D2

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(Outside)????????????????????? ? ? ?? ?? (Eisai Incubator for NeuroDiscovery)

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(Equipment of Data Science)?????????? ? ? ?? ???(Space of Precision Chemistry)