Takeda in schizophrenia research alliance with Envoy Thera

Japan’s largest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical (TSE:4502) has formed a three-year research alliance Envoy Therapeutics, a recently-formed US drug discovery company, aimed at discovering drugs for schizophrenia that will have greater efficacy and safety compared to current therapies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Osaka-based Takeda will make a $3 million upfront payment as well as providing $2.25 million per year in research funding and fees. In addition, Envoy will receive potential progress-dependent milestone payments and royalties should one or more compounds advance to clinical development and commercialization.

Developed at Rockefeller University in the USA, with its roots in the government funded Gene Expression Nervous System ATlas (GENSAT) project, Envoy’s “bacTRAP” technology combines innovative genetic engineering with new molecular biology techniques for labeling and extracting the protein-making components of specific types of cells.