Presage Biosciences Extends Research Collaboration With Takeda


Presage Biosciences recently announced it has entered into a multi-year extension of its November 2014 research alliance with Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Limited.

The agreement provides Takeda access to Presage’s proprietary CIVO technology platform to enable identification of novel oncology drug combinations in solid tumors. Under the agreement, Presage and Takeda will screen a broad array of drug combinations and preclinical models to discover novel combinations and generate data to support clinical decision-making on Takeda’s pipeline agents. The agreement includes development and regulatory milestones related to identification of successful novel drug combinations.

“We are pleased to extend our collaboration with Presage and utilize their technology platform to more rapidly understand the impact of drug combinations directly on tumors,” said Christopher Claiborne, PhD, Head of the Oncology Drug Discovery Unit at Takeda. “Takeda prides itself on creating novel medicines for patients, and having a committed partner like Presage enables us to continue fulfilling our mission of aspiring to cure cancer.”

“It is deeply rewarding to continue our collaboration with Takeda,” said Richard Klinghoffer, Chief Scientific Officer of Presage. “Together, the teams at Presage and Takeda are employing the unique potential of Presage’s CIVO arrayed microinjection technology to identify novel drug combinations that will hopefully improve the lives of patients with cancer.”

CIVO technology is currently being used preclinically to identify effective combinations of drugs. By assessing several combinations in a single living tumor, the CIVO platform is able to characterize and directly compare the influence of multiple biophysical factors, such as immune infiltrate, stromal barrier, and hypoxia on the tumor response.

Presage Biosciences is an oncology company pioneering a radical new drug development approach to assess novel drug combinations directly in patient tumors with its patented CIVO arrayed microinjection platform. The CIVO platform allows for simultaneous assessment of multiple drugs or drug combinations directly in a single solid tumor while still in a patient’s body to assess efficacy, resistance, and drug synergies in the tumor’s native microenvironment. Presage is using CIVO to develop a portfolio of promising oncology therapies to advance to the clinic, including voruciclib, a clinical-stage oral CDK inhibitor in clinical development for multiple cancer indications. Presage also partners with oncology-focused pharmaceutical companies through strategic alliances to provide data to discover effective drug combinations. Presage is privately held and based in Seattle. For more information, visit www.presagebio.com.