Daiichi Sankyo Company has announced details of the application for its Take a New Challenge for Drug Discovery (TaNeDS) Global 2018, a collaborative drug discovery initiative for universities and research institutes in Europe and the East Coast of the United States.

The TaNeDS programme was launched in Japan in 2011 to help discover new lines of research through open innovation. From 2013, it expanded outside of Japan, opening up to researchers in Europe. This year, based on past experiences and results, the programme will be further expanded to include the East Coast of the United States and be known as “TaNeDS Global 2018”. The aim of the programme, however, will continue to be increasing collaborative opportunities between Daiichi Sankyo and researchers outside of Japan.

TaNeDS Global 2018 Collaborative Drug Discovery Programme:

(1)  Eligible countries & US states: All EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Israel; The East Coast of the United States: Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.

(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) Oncology: Novel targets and mechanisms for small-molecule and biologic treatments (antibody drugs, etc.); (2) Pain and sensory neural systems: Novel targets and compounds for pain and sensory neuronal systems in vision/hearing loss; (3) Cardiovascular and renal diseases: Novel targets and mechanisms for heart, kidney, and vascular diseases; (4) Other diseases: Novel targets and therapeutics for genetic rare diseases, gut microbiome-related diseases, stroke and anaemia; (5) Cell therapy: Research on novel mesenchymal stem cell, novel somatic stem/progenitor cells, and adoptive T-cell therapy; (6) Technology and related research: Novel technology on nucleic acid therapeutics, gene therapy and biomarker research; Novel targets for nucleic acid therapeutics and protein therapeutics. For more details, visit TaNeDS Global 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 EUR/USD 75,000 (Type A) or EUR/USD 150,000 (Type B) (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, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Israel, and the East Coast of the United States 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 19, 2018; First shortlist selection period: Late February to Mid-March, 2018; Second shortlist selection period: April, 2018; On-site visit interview: Mid-May, 2018; Notification of final decisions: Mid-June, 2018; Start of research programme: August 2018 and onward.