Victorian medicines accelerator, BioCurate, is partnering with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited to expedite the development of new therapeutics and drugs.
Founded in June 2016 by Monash University and the University of Melbourne with support from the Victorian Government, BioCurate is an independent ‘venture catalyst’ for potential new treatments. It focuses on early-phase drug development, where new concepts often fail due to lack of resources.
BioCurate aims to be a global leader in the translation of basic medical research into therapeutic treatments. Its two founding universities have wide-ranging medical research expertise. In combination, they rank within the top five academic institutions globally for pharmacology, immunology and metabolism medicine, according to BioCurate.
The bio-accelerator’s new partner, Takeda, is the largest pharmaceuticals company in Asia, with approximately 50,000 employees. The company specialises in oncology, gastro disorders and neurology.
Takeda’s Global Head of Research, Steven Hitchcock, says his company will bring expertise in clinical development and commercialisation to the BioCurate partnership.
‘Together, we will help identify and nurture the discoveries from BioCurate’s ecosystem that have the greatest potential to become transformational new therapies for patients in need,’ he says.
BioCurate Chief Executive Officer, Dr C. Glenn Bagley, welcomed the tie-up with Takeda.
‘BioCurate is very pleased to expand our collaborative linkages with experts who are able to provide invaluable scientific advice, commercial insight and partnering opportunities,’ he says.
Through its Center for External Innovation, Takeda has more than 200 active partnerships around the world. Takeda’s partnerships in Australia include both academia and companies. Its COCKPI-T® open innovation funding platform was introduced in Australia in 2018.
