EA Pharma Co., Ltd.
Eisai Co., Ltd.
Eisai Co., Ltd. (CEO: Haruo Naito; Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan, "Eisai") and Eisai’s subsidiary for gastrointestinal diseases EA Pharma Co., Ltd. (President & CEO: Yuji Matsue; Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan, “EA Pharma”) announced today that EA Pharma has entered into an industry-academia-government joint research agreement with six related joint research organizations, and that research activities have fully commenced. This joint research project was selected by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) for its Cyclic Innovation for Clinical Empowerment (CiCLE) grant program.1
E6011 is a novel anti-fractalkine antibody originally developed by Eisai’s research subsidiary KAN Research Institute Inc. Fractalkine (FKN) is expressed in vascular endothelial cells in inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. FKN induces inflammatory reaction by binding to the immune cells expressing FKN receptors (CX3CR1). E6011 is a biopharmaceutical (antibody preparation) with the novel action mechanism of anti-inflammation by suppressing migration and invasion of CX3CR1 expressing immune cells.
EA Pharma represents the above initiative to “develop biologics and new markers originated in Japan for Crohn’s disease by industry-academia collaboration,” selected by AMED for CiCLE. In this project, EA Pharma conducts the clinical development of E6011, and the organizations under the joint research agreement (Keio University School of Medicine; Tokyo Medical and Dental University; Kitasato University Kitasato Institute Hospital; Nagoya City University; Kagoshima University and KAN Research Institute, Inc.) conduct the development of new biomarkers.
In addition to the above project, EA Pharma has also participated in the industry-academia-government joint project for commercialization of “acute liver failure treatment by the recombinant human hepatocyte growth factor,” which was selected by AMED for Adaptable and Seamless Technology transfer Program through target driven R&D (AMED・A-STEP), as well as another project for “development of self-expanding biodegradable stents for the small intestine available for endoscopic stenting for treatment of benign disease-induced ileus,” which was selected by AMED for its Development of Medical Devices through Collaboration between Medicine and Industry program. Further, the joint research project of EA Pharma and the University of Tsukuba for “treating inflammatory bowel disease using small molecules and biomarkers” has been adopted by the Japan Science and Technology Agency’s Newly extended Technology transfer Program (NexTEP).
EA Pharma and Eisai strive to increase treatment benefits for patients with Crohn’s disease and their families through quicker development of E6011 via industry-academia-government collaboration, taking the advantage of adoption for CiCLE.
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3. About Crohn’s disease
Crohn’s disease (CD) is an inflammatory disease characterized by ulcers and/or inflammatory lesions in the small and/or large intestines. The cause is unknown. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare designated CD as an intractable disease. The number of patients with CD has been increasing in recent years. As of 2016, 42,789 patients were registered in Japan2. The prevalence is higher in the US and Europe than in Japan: the number of patients is estimated to be about 27 per 100,000 people in Japan, and approximately 200 per 100,000 in the US3. CD is more common in men than women, with the male-female ratio of the patients being 2:1. CD is most commonly seen in adolescents with a peak in their late 10s to early 20s. CD complicates stricture, ileus, abscess (abscess formation in the infected site) and so on. Anal fistula (Pores are formed in the intestinal tract, which allows abnormal communication between the intestinal tracts or the perianal skin) is a characteristic symptom. Surgical procedures are used when nutrition therapy and chemotherapy are insufficient. In CD, active/remission stages repeat over a long period of time. Even though once the disease enters into a remission stage, long-term treatment is needed for prevention of flares/relapses (Inflammation occurs in the intestinal tract again) and recurrence (Inflammation occurs in a new site in the intestinal tract).
4. About EA Pharma Co., Ltd.
EA Pharma Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Eisai Co., Ltd. for gastrointestinal disease area, was established in April 2016 by integration of the gastrointestinal business unit with more than 60 years’ history of the Eisai Group and the gastrointestinal business unit of the Ajinomoto Group having amino acid as its business core. EA Pharma is a gastrointestinal specialty pharma with a full value chain covering R&D, logistics and sales & marketing.
For more information on EA Pharma Co., Ltd., please see
http://www.eapharma.co.jp/en/
5．About Eisai Co., Ltd.
Eisai Co., Ltd. is a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. We define our corporate mission as "giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides," which we call our human health care (hhc) philosophy. With approximately 10,000 employees working across our global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to realize our hhc philosophy by delivering innovative products to address unmet medical needs, with a particular focus in our strategic areas of Neurology and Oncology.
For more information on Eisai Co., Ltd., please see https://www.eisai.com/