Chugai announces $92 million research deal with Osaka University

Japanese drug major Chugai Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4519) has announced a research collaboration with the Osaka University Immunology Frontier Research Center (IFReC).

Chugai, which is majority-owned by Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX), will provide almost $92 million to fund independent research projects at the IFReC, and expects the partnership to lead to the unprecedented discovery of innovative novel drugs in the field of immunology.

Headed by director Shizuo Akira, an eminent immunologist, IFReC convenes around 30 of the world’s top-class principal investigators from Japan and overseas in the fields of immunology, live imaging and bioinformatics.