Takeda and Curidium enter into MDD strategic partnership

Takeda Research Investment (TVR), the corporate investment arm of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Curidium to boost development of Curidium’s Homomatrix, indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).

The financial deal will see TRI purchase over ten million ordinary shares and 20 million warrants for additional ordinary shares in Curidium.

The company will then use these proceeds to aid development of Homomatrix and identify potential patient subgroups within MDD, characterised by unique gene expression profiles and specific drug targets.

TRI and Curidium have also entered into a licence option agreement where Takeda, through TRI, receives an option right to select MDD biomarker and drug target discoveries made by Curidium which then form the basis of negotiations on a licence to the intellectual property rights of the assets.

Dr Graeme Martin, president and chief executive officer of TRI, expressed the company’s delight in forming the strategic partnership with Curidium.

“This indication is a key strategic focus for Takeda and we expect that reliable methods for patient stratification will bring significant therapeutic benefits in this area of exceptional medical need,” he confirmed.

Earlier this month, Takeda announced that it had formed a new company to carry out its therapeutic antibody research.