Sanford-Burnham today announced it has signed a two-year partnership agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. of Japan to study the potential role of several gene regulatory proteins as targets for the treatment of heart failure. Based on research conducted in Sanford-Burnham laboratories, the collaborating scientists will screen and develop molecules that have the potential to improve the metabolism and function of the failing heart.
“Heart failure is a major killer worldwide and there is a tremendous need for new treatment options,” said Daniel P. Kelly, MD, Tavistock Distinguished Professor and Scientific Director of Sanford-Burnham at Lake Nona. “My team and colleagues at the Institute have been studying the machinery that controls metabolism in the heart for years. The partnership with Takeda will accelerate our progress and bring it closer to the clinic.”
In patients suffering from cardiovascular disease and heart failure, the ability to burn nutritional fuels becomes altered—referred to as the “energy-starved heart.” The goal of this partnership is to identify a molecule that could reactivate the power to burn fuels for pump function.
“We are delighted to pursue this collaboration to identify new molecules to treat heart failure, which represents a critical unmet medical need,” said Dr. Tetsuyuki Maruyama, General Manager, Head of Pharmaceutical Research Division at Takeda. Sanford-Burnham and Takeda scientists will collaborate to validate the targets and molecules from a drug point of view.
This is the third research collaboration between Takeda and Sanford-Burnham over five years. As a hallmark of previously successful projects, Takeda scientists will work side by side with researchers in Sanford-Burnham’s laboratories. Additionally, the collaborators will work with colleagues in Sanford-Burnham’s Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics to screen the Institute’s vast library of compounds to find an effective molecule that can reactivate metabolism in heart failure patients, ultimately improving the outcome over currently available treatments.