Innovation Japan
A NEW APPROACH TO DRUG DISCOVERY
Providing effective treatments for everyone in need
Therapeutic drugs for cancer and immune diseases are generally very expensive and often cause side effects. Use of non-standard peptides have been attracting considerable attention as a new approach to develop drugs with less side effects, but until now no one could find a way to create those peptides artificially. However, one Japanese company has successfully developed a revolutionary system called “Peptide Discovery Platform System”, or “PDPS”. PDPS enables humans to artificially create millions of different kinds of non-standard peptides and then narrow these peptides down to candidates for new drugs in short time. Watch this video to learn how this technology dramatically shortens the new drug development process and helps to significantly lower drug prices.
Therapeutic drugs for cancer and immune diseases are usually very expensive and often cause side effects.
Side effects arise when the effect of the drug isn’t limited to the targeted diseased cells and also affects healthy cells.
However, no one could find a way to create non-standard peptides using bio technology. The only way to acquire them was to find them accidentally in nature.
In Japan, however, one company has successfully developed a revolutionary system which enables humans to artificially create non-standard peptides. The system is called “Peptide Discovery Platform System”, or “PDPS”.
Hiroaki Suga, Ph.D.
Professor, The University of Tokyo
Outside Director, PeptiDream Inc.
PDPS provides three capabilities: connecting key constituents of non-standard peptides; creating numerous types of non-standard peptides; and discovering the candidate peptides that are a match for the new drug.
I developed the super-enzyme called “Flexizyme” which allows us to freely connect the key constituents of non-standard peptides.
Then, using our random combination technology on these constituents, we create millions of different kinds of non-standard peptides in one small test tube.
From among these non-standard peptides, we search for candidate peptides that can be used for new drugs at high speed using our newly developed searching method.
Selected candidate non-standard peptides are supplied as lead compounds for new drug discovery, and continue on to preclinical phase.
This whole process takes only one to two years.
Kiichi Kubota
President & CEO
PeptiDream Inc.
Our PDPS can dramatically shorten the new drug development process.
That’s because it usually takes more than five years to discover a lead compound.
PDPS can help significantly lower drug prices.
Also, in collaboration with JAXA, they are investigating new ways in outer space to further lower drug prices.
Kiichi Kubota
President & CEO
PeptiDream Inc.
Non-standard peptide drugs will be inexpensive and less likely to cause side effects. We are really looking forward to introducing revolutionary new drugs to the world very soon.
This video was created in collaboration with PeptiDream Inc.
Kiichi Kubota
President & CEO
PeptiDream Inc.
For developing drugs without side effects, non-standard peptides have attracted considerable attention.
They only work on the target protein. As such, they are less likely to cause side effects.