Shionogi & Co., Ltd. has announced a policy of making a full-scale entry into peptide drug discovery and advancing drug discovery research, CMC and formulation from multiple angles with the aim of establishing medium-molecule modalities.
Shionogi & Co., Ltd. has primarily focused on small-molecule drug discovery to date, but recognizes that suitable targets for small-molecule drug discovery are becoming scarcer and the field is growing more difficult. It therefore regards peptide drug discovery as a new modality of importance.
Kugimiya Kei (釘宮啓), medium-molecule research lead at the Advanced Pharmaceutical Research Laboratories of the company’s Pharmaceutical Research Division, indicated that the company intends to strengthen research, CMC and formulation across disciplines in order to establish peptide drug discovery technologies.
Development of medium-molecule modalities, including peptide drug discovery, is expected to proceed by increasing diversity in drug discovery while linking research and development with compatibility assessment and formulation technologies.
The article focuses on Shionogi & Co., Ltd.’s new modality strategy and describes the company’s aim of establishing technologies in the medium-molecule field.