Astellas inks new deal with AIST to discover anti-protozoan parasite drugs

Japanese drug major Astellas Pharma (TYO: 4503) has signed a new collaborative research agreement with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) to discover anti-protozoan parasite drugs for the treatment of Chagas’ disease, one of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

As part of the initiative, Astellas has been collaborating with five research institutions in Japan as well as with an international non-profit organization since 2012 to discover new drugs for the treatment of NTDs caused by protozoan parasites belonging to trypanosomatidae (ie, leishmaniasis, Chagas’ disease, and African trypanosomiasis) that represent significant unmet medical needs.

Under this new agreement, Astellas and the AIST will conduct collaborative research to discover new drugs for the treatment of Chagas’ disease, using genome editing technology and a high throughput activity assay for Trypanosoma cruzi (the cause of the disease) that have been obtained through the existing collaborative research. As Chagas’ disease is one of the most prevalent NTDs and no specific drugs are available for the disease, the discovery of new effective drugs will help to address a critical unmet need.