Special collaborative drug discovery and medical research project aims to enhance healthy longevity and patient quality of life.
Japan is a leader in life expectancy, and now Toray Industries, Inc. and the University of Tsukuba have embarked on a five-year joint research project to address aging-related challenges. This collaboration aims to leverage Toray’s innovations in drug discovery alongside Tsukuba’s scientific and research infrastructure to create impactful solutions that enhance both longevity and quality of life for Japan’s elderly population and those with chronic conditions.
Longevity.Technology: Japan’s commitment to advancing geroscience and healthy aging is evident in its rapidly growing longevity industry. The establishment of institutions like the Geroscience Research Center under the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (NCGG) has positioned Japan as a key player in this field; their work tackles age-related diseases, such as dementia, sarcopenia and other chronic conditions. Collaboration between academic institutions and industry, such as the one between Toray and Tsukuba, is instrumental in advancing research from the laboratory to real-world application. This partnership echoes Japan’s strategic push toward healthier aging, reflecting the potential of geroscience to drive meaningful change in public health.
Toray’s contributions to healthcare include a range of diagnostic and therapeutic products already on the market, such as the prostacyclin derivative Dorner for arterial and pulmonary treatments, and REMITCH for pruritus in patients with liver and kidney diseases. However, the collaborative nature of this new project at the University of Tsukuba offers an additional benefit: the opportunity for open innovation, a method Toray emphasizes to increase both research efficiency and precision.
The University of Tsukuba, one of Japan’s leading universities established in 1873, has a reputation for fostering interdisciplinary research and active industry-academia collaborations. Conducting around 500 joint research projects annually, the university provides a vibrant environment where academia meets industry – a synergy essential for this ambitious venture. The newly formed research unit at Tsukuba will integrate Toray’s medical technology with the university’s advanced research infrastructure, a setup poised to address the complexities of Japan’s aging society through shared expertise and resources.
At the heart of this collaboration is the exploration of Toray’s innovative treatment candidates, which span promising compounds aimed at various age-related conditions. These include a potential therapy for cancer cachexia – a metabolic syndrome affecting cancer patients – and an alternative to morphine for pain management. Additionally, Toray has been investigating compounds with a novel mechanism for treating peripheral neuropathy. By using genetically modified animals, the research team will analyze these compounds’ mechanisms of action in detail, aiming to streamline clinical development through sophisticated imaging techniques like cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography. These approaches allow researchers to examine how these compounds interact with target proteins at the molecular level, yielding insights critical for efficient drug development.
Through this initiative, Toray and Tsukuba aim to bolster Japan’s drug development landscape, and Toray’s approach aligns well with the University of Tsukuba’s goals of addressing societal needs through cutting-edge research. As part of the project, the team will also examine the value of partnering with pharmaceutical companies and setting up university-based ventures. This step is seen as essential for translating research into tangible healthcare products that could benefit patients in the near future. Given Japan’s high prevalence of age-related conditions, including the projected rise in dementia rates – which could affect one in four individuals over 65 by 2045 – effective research collaboration is a national priority.
