Eisai collaborates with Genomics on drug development

Japanese drug major Eisai (TYO: 4523) has entered into a collaborative agreement to use UK-based Genomics' sophisticated statistical analyses of large-scale multi-phenotype genetic association data to inform Eisai's drug discovery process, including target selection, target validation, indication selection and repositioning.

Both companies believe that human genetics and genomics can add great value to the drug development process. Genomics, the Oxford-based genome analytics company, will be partnering with Eisai's new Integrated Human Genomics (IHGx) Research Unit which operates directly under the supervision of Eisai Product Creation Systems' chief clinical officer. No financial terms of the collaboration have been revealed.

“Eisai is delighted to be working with Genomics,” states Nadeem Sarwar, director of the IHGx Research Unit, adding: “Genomics' founders are internationally recognized leaders in the analysis and interpretation of human genetic data. This collaboration is another indication of Eisai's commitment to leveraging genomic knowledge to accelerate the discovery and development of impactful new medicines.”