Emulate and Takeda Partner to Use Intestine-Chip for New Drug Target Identification and Validation in Drug Development for GI Diseases
Emulate announced today that it has formed a strategic R&D collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited to use Emulate’s Intestine-Chip across a range of Takeda’s R&D activities — from discovery, to drug evaluation, to biomarkers — in order to expand innovation in the drug discovery process for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. This collaboration with Takeda is the first to apply Emulate’s Intestine-Chip to drug development for GI diseases.
Takeda and Emulate will work collaboratively to conduct research that uses the Intestine-Chip within the Human Emulation System for studies related to Takeda’s drug discovery programs in GI. Studies will focus on R&D programs where the Intestine-Chip can offer unique insights into the biological mechanisms of the intestinal epithelium, which is understood to be associated with key aspects of many GI diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease.
“The ability to accurately recreate the human intestinal epithelium is a key to opening up new insights into the complex pathways of GI diseases and drug mechanisms of action, and we are delighted to apply our Intestine-Chip to support drug innovation with Takeda, a world leader in developing treatments for GI diseases,” said Geraldine A. Hamilton, PhD, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Emulate. “We welcome this partnership with Takeda to work with them to use our Intestine-Chip as a human-relevant testing system that can be used for drug discovery and development to lead to better, safer medicines for debilitating GI diseases.”