Materials Open Platform (MOP) for Pharmaceutical Science Launched
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
The National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and 11 pharmaceutical companies have jointly launched a materials open platform (MOP) for pharmaceutical science (Platform Director: Kohsaku Kawakami, Leader of the Medical Soft Matter Group, Research Center for Functional Materials, NIMS). An MOP is a framework designed to facilitate joint research by competing companies within the same industry.
Abstract
- The National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and 11 pharmaceutical companies have jointly launched a materials open platform (MOP) for pharmaceutical science (Platform Director: Kohsaku Kawakami, Leader of the Medical Soft Matter Group, Research Center for Functional Materials, NIMS). An MOP is a framework designed to facilitate joint research by competing companies within the same industry.
- The 11 founding member companies of this MOP are Astellas Pharma Inc., Eisai Co., Ltd., Sawai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Chugai Pharma Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Towa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd. This MOP aims to establish and standardize methodologies for physicochemical characterization and formulation development of candidate compounds, through which Japan’s basic pharmaceutical R&D capabilities are strengthened and efficient developmental protocols can be shared.
- Drugs have conventionally been mainly low-molecular-weight compounds. In recent years, more diverse treatment modalities—such as the use of antibodies and nucleic acids—have been developed. In fact, the coronavirus vaccines currently being distributed around the world were developed using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Physicochemical characterization and development of formulation technologies to be conducted under the MOP framework will focus mainly on antibody drugs and nucleic acid medicines. The developmental skills for these modalities have been advancing slowly, partly due to a lack of attention to materials science.
- To address this issue, NIMS led the effort to launch the MOP for pharmaceutical science—a framework promoting collaborative basic research by major pharmaceutical companies in Japan. NIMS has conducted basic researches on medical materials for many years. On the other hand, NIMS has previously organized some MOPs for other industries, such as chemical and steel manufacturers. The establishment of this MOP is expected to facilitate sharing of skills by the member companies, joint development of basic technologies and strengthening of Japan’s global competitiveness in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Development of new pharmaceutical products require well-qualified formulation technologies based on materials science as well as high efficacy and safety of the active compounds. This MOP aims to accelerate successful development of candidate compounds. The achievements of this collaborative work will be used in the pharmaceutical industry, which directly contribute to public health.
Figure:Organization of MOP
