NCBN, JPMA Team Up for Disease-Specific Drug Databank for Drug Discovery and Personalized Medicine

PRICENTRIC BRIEF:

•  The National Center Biobank Network (NCBN) and seven member companies (Asahi Kasei, Atellas, Eisai, Ono, Tanabe Mitsubishi, Daiichi Sankyo, and Nippon Shinyaku) under the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA) are teaming up for the construction and utilization of a “non-competitive” information integration database focusing on two therapeutic areas—neurology/psychiatry and immune/inflammation – set to last for five years in a pilot scheme
• The integrated database would link together multi-layered omics data and clinical information, allowing participating companies to pull from the databank to aid in the discovery of new medicines with a focus on disease areas of interest
• After collecting and verifying samples from patients with specific diseases, subsequent steps entail fusing the research capabilities of the pharmaceutical industry with those of academia – which would be involved to propose new disease classifications and early diagnoses – to create innovative medicines and achieve more advanced precision medicine and preventive/preemptive medicine for the future

THE DETAILS

TOKYO, Japan – The National Center Biobank Network (NCBN) and seven member companies under the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA) are teaming up for the construction and utilization of a disease-specific database focusing on two therapeutic areas—neurology/psychiatry and immune/inflammation – set to last five years in a pilot scheme.

In a press release, JPMA explained how in recent years, there has been a push to link pathological conditions to drug discovery by analyzing them in a precise, systemic and comprehensive manner.

While in Europe and the United States there is a database accessible by companies, the stored data is limited to genomic data and basic clinical information. In Japan, such a database but with whole-genomic analyses is being studied, with the expectation that this genomic information will play into drug discovery.

The integrated database would link together multi-layered omics data and clinical information.

The construction of this system requires patient samples, for which there are two methods of collection that can be followed: collecting samples from definitively diagnosed cases over time or collecting samples from a large number of typical cases. In short, biological samples would be collected from patients diagnosed with specific diseases, and researchers can combine these samples with clinical information create databanks of biologic samples for future use.

Either way, the project necessitates highly accurate diagnostic ability, abundant clinical information, and high quality-controlled samples. As it stands, only a few institutions in Japan are able to provide these samples along these lines.

The use of biobank samples would be significantly advantageous for stakeholders, not just drug manufacturers, as it exploits the evolution and sophistication of increasingly efficacious omics analysis technology by enmeshing the know-how of participating academia and pharmaceutical companies, buttressed by the capabilities of the latest technology.

“By utilizing the constructed information integration database for each disease, the knowledge obtained in academia can be returned to clinical practice, improving diagnostic accuracy and realizing effective treatment, leading to the creation of innovative new drugs in pharmaceutical companies,” said JPMA. “That is the goal of this industry-academia-government joint research.”

First and foremost, the goal of the project is to come up with preventive and preemptive medicine. The project entails participants outputting various disease classifications, proposals for early diagnosis methods, and identification of target molecules and biomarkers for stratified patient groups.

Multi-layered omics data can be acquired through samples from the biobank that have been cleared using advanced measurement methods, as well as through detailed medical care, which would permit the construction of a non-competitive information integration database for each disease.

Subsequent steps entail fusing the research capabilities of the pharmaceutical industry with those of academia – which would be involved to propose new disease classifications and early diagnoses – to create innovative medicines and achieve more advanced precision medicine and preventive/preemptive medicine for the future.

With these samples accessible, companies can focus on diseases of interest and conduct their own analyses, as long as they contribute research to the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED).

All in all, the list of participating organizations includes NCBN, the National Center for International Medical Research, the National Center for Psychiatry and Neurology, the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, and the National Cardiovascular Research Center. The seven JPMA companies are Asahi Kasei, Atellas, Eisai, Ono, Tanabe Mitsubishi Daiichi Sankyo, and Nippon Shinyaku.