Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (hereafter, Daiichi Sankyo) announced on October 12 details of the application for its "Take a New Challenge for Drug Discovery (TaNeDS) Europe 2017," a collaborative drug discovery initiative for universities and research institutes in Europe.

The TaNeDS programme was launched in Japan in 2011 to help discover new lines of research through open innovation. From 2013, it has expanded outside of Japan, opening up to researchers in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and became known as TaNeDS Global Programme. Since 2014, it has expanded further across Europe to include all EU member states and was renamed "TaNeDS Europe" in 2015. The aim of this programme is increasing collaborative opportunities with researchers in Europe.

About TaNeDS Europe 2017 Collaborative Drug Discovery Programme

1. Eligible Countries:

All EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Israel

2. Candidate Research for Application

New drug-target discovery, drug- target validation, and innovative technological research that could result in novel drug discovery and development.

3. Research Themes

(1) Cancer

New mechanisms and drug- target validation study for small-molecule and biologic treatments (antibody drugs, etc.)

(2) Pain and Sensory Neuron Disorder

New mechanisms and drug treatments for pain and sensory neuronal systems in vision/hearing loss

(3) End-Organ Diseases

New targets and mechanisms of end-organ diseases from heart, kidney, liver and vascular diseases  

(4) Other Internal Diseases

New mechanisms and drug treatments for rare diseases, gastrointestinal disorder and anaemia

(5) Cell Therapy

Research on novel somatic stem/progenitor cells, adoptive T-cell therapy and new technology on cell/gene modification

(6) Revolutionary Drug Discovery Technology

Novel technology on oncology, nucleic acid therapeutics, gene therapy and drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics

For more details, please visit TaNeDS Europe webpage at: http://www.daiichisankyo.com/rd/taneds/index.html

4. Budget and Period of Research

Depending on the project type, up to maximum of 80,000 (Type A) or 150,000 (Type B) euros (plus overhead) per year for collaborative research projects for 2 years

5. Eligibility

Researchers of any nationality employed by universities, research institutes and start-up companies within the EU as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Israel, who can conduct research in those countries

6. Selection criteria

By matching Daiichi Sankyo's research interests as well as demonstrating originality, potentiality and possibility of drug discovery

7. Schedule

Application period:                 January 10 to February 20, 2017

First shortlist selection period:   Late February to late Mid-March, 2017

Second shortlist selection period:  April, 2017

On-site visit interview:            Mid-May, 2017

Notification of final decision:     Early June, 2017

Start of research programme:        August 2017 and onward

About Selection Results for TaNeDS Europe 2015/2016 Collaborative Drug Discovery Programme:

The selection for 2015/2016 resulted in four projects, and the three collaborations are currently underway having one under negotiation.

(1) Applications: 191

(2) Selected: 4

The themes of four selected proposals are Cancer Biologics (Switzerland), Sensory Neuron (the Netherlands), Rare Diseases (Ireland), and Anaemia (Sweden).

About Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited

Representative: Joji Nakayama, Representative Director, President and CEO

(Code no.: 4568, First Section, Tokyo Stock Exchange)

http://www.daiichisankyo.com