Astellas and Riken to research new Alzheimer’s therapies

Astellas has announced a new research alliance with the Riken Brain Science Institute, which will focus on the development of Alzheimer's disease therapies.

The five-year joint research agreement is designed to allow the organisations to share expertise and decipher the mechanisms underpinning the condition, as well as identifying new drug targets.

It will leverage Astellas' drug discovery platform and Riken's fundamental technology and research capabilities, particularly as regards the key causative agent known as amyloid beta peptide.

The new agreement reflects Astellas and Riken's desire to find new ways of treating a condition that is becoming an increasingly prominent social burden, and for which there is no current cure.

"It is critical to fully understand the pathogenic mechanisms of the disease and to translate the findings on important mechanisms into discovery of novel drugs for the disease," said Astellas.

This comes after the pharmaceutical company agreed a new alliance with Evec in September, which will focus on developing a new drug candidate for infectious diseases.