Seeking Novel Druggable Targets and Drug Screening Systems in Chronic Pain

Asahi Kasei Pharma, a global pharmaceutical company, is seeking novel drug molecules and novel druggable targets in the treatment of chronic pain, as well as in vitro screening systems to identify novel targets for chronic pain. The team is interested in new compounds and targets that will provide therapeutic benefit in the following indications: neuropathic pain, nociceptive pain, nociplastic pain, cancer pain, postoperative pain and other intractable chronic pains.

Approaches of interest:

• Asahi Kasei Pharma is open to different modalities including small molecules, peptides, antibodies, proteins and nucleotides. Orally available drugs are preferable regardless of the modality.
• Plate-based screening systems with medium (96-well) to high (384-well) throughput are of interest.
• Cell-based in vitro assay systems with iPS cell-derived neurons and/or glial cells from healthy individuals or patients, or with rat primary cells for new target identification are also relevant. 

Developmental Stages of Interest:

• Research at basic to late preclinical stages are within scope, with a preference for preclinical stage.
• Research should have in vitro validation demonstrating the expected mechanism of action for drug target molecules.

Out of scope:

• Migraine and visceral pain.
• Opioids, NSAIDs and drug repurposing.
• Cellular, gene and combination therapies.

Submission Information:

Submission of one page, 200-300 word briefs are encouraged, along with any optional supplementary information e.g. relevant publications. Intellectual property status of the research should be included where relevant. In submitting to this campaign, you confirm that your submission contains only non-confidential information. 

Opportunity for Collaboration:

Asahi Kasei Pharma is open to a range of collaboration opportunities, with the most appropriate outcome being decided on a case-by-case basis. The team is particularly interested in licensing assets, as well as research collaborations with academics to develop analgesic drugs. Collaborations may utilise the team’s techniques and expertise, as well as 50,000 – 200,000 USD/year/project in potential funding.