Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Daikichiro Kobayashi) and the Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Kobe were aiming to develop a revolutionary pharmaceutical as the first collaborative research program of the Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster. From April 2016, they performed collaborative research for five years to discover drugs for autoimmune diseases and cancer in the first "Drug Discovery Innovation Program" administered and managed by the foundation.
An antibody drug candidate for the treatment of autoimmune disease was successfully created as a result of this exploratory research. While applying for a substance patent and a use patent for the therapeutic medicine, the collaborative research period was extended by three years from April 1, 2021. The name of the program was changed to the "HBI Innovation Program", and drug discovery research will be performed for clinical testing at the Honjo Kobe Research Center for Biomedical Innovation (HBI).
Research objective
The aim is to investigate control mechanisms for immune checkpoints that adjust the balance between immune activation and suppression and to research these control methods, etc., to develop new pharmaceuticals for autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Research details
It is thought that strategies that actively use immune suppression mechanisms in the body to treat autoimmune diseases are promising. Therefore, research and development were performed for antibodies that induce immune suppression with a focus on PD-1 as the representative suppression mechanism in the immune system. As a result of 5 years of collaborative research that started in 2016, an experimental system was developed that detects biological activity induced by the addition of anti-PD-1 antibodies, and anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies were successfully identified as drug candidates that increase immune suppression for the treatment of autoimmune disease.
In the future, the safety and effectiveness of this therapeutic drug candidate will be tested to advance its development and practical use for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Extended research period
Three years from April 1, 2021
Program director
President Tasuku Honjo, Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Kobe
Research manager
General Manager Akio Ohta, Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Kobe
Research institute
Honjo Kobe Research Center for Biomedical Innovation (HBI)
Address: Creative Lab for Innovation in Kobe, 6-3-7 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe city
About Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd.
Meiji Seika Pharma, since it launched penicillin in 1946, has been providing efficacious and high-quality pharmaceutical products such as therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, therapeutics for central nervous system diseases as well as generic drugs in response to various medical needs. Meanwhile, Meiji Seika Pharma is focusing its research and development on drug discovery for immunity, inflammation and biopharmaceuticals, by strengthening its network with external institutions in regard to new modalities and advanced medical fields.
About the "HBI Innovation Program"
The foundation's main policy for drug discovery in the biofields is to propose programs, which integrate / link the research and development functions of the research institutes, infrastructure, etc., in the Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster, to domestic and overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers, etc., and to centrally provide the researchers; equipment; and research environment for clinical development, etc.; that are required for evelopment through drug discovery using the foundation's collaborative research system. This program was re-established with the opening of the Honjo Kobe Research Center for Biomedical Innovation (HBI), and the name was changed from the "Drug Discovery Innovation Program" to the "HBI Innovation Program".