Key elements: Long term partnership + drug discovery & development

Imperial partners with Heptares to search for new gut drugs

Collaboration with world-class academic research groups is integral to our long-term drug discovery strategy."

Malcolm Weir

Chief R&D Officer, Sosei & Heptares

In March 2018 Imperial announced a multi-year partnership with Heptares, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sosei Group Corporation.  Through this partnership Heptares agreed to fund and support various programmes of work related to target discovery and validation while retaining the responsibility for the progression and commercialisation of any compounds resulting from the collaboration.

The strategic collaboration is bringing together teams from both organisations to rapidly advance drug discovery and translational research. 

To begin with, researchers will focus on conditions affecting the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.  They will build on existing knowledge of key targets in the gut called G protein-coupled receptors to develop new treatments for GI disease.  Gastrointestinal disease is the third most common cause of death in the UK.

“Breakthroughs in this field could ultimately help to the improve quality of life for patients living with inflammatory bowel disease, which affects more than half a million people in the UK alone.”

Professor Gary Frost, Chair in Nutrition and Dietetics and head of the Nutrition and Food Network at Imperial College London, added: “This research will build on the growing body of knowledge around these key membrane receptors in the gut, investigating their potential in therapeutic interventions.

The collaboration will also support ongoing discovery and development programmes at Sosei/Heptares.

You can read the full news article here.

Drugs for the gut