Singapore: The Japanese pharma major Takeda, recently announced that the company has entered into a strategic partnership with Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, to advance its research into gastrointestinal diseases.

The agreement will facilitate joint research by Takeda and Monash researchers to unravel the mechanisms underlying diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, abdominal pain and severe constipation, and develop new approaches for their treatment.

"There is no cure for many gastrointestinal diseases," said Mr Nigel Bunnett, deputy director of MIPS, "Current treatments are either inadequate or have major side-effects. If we can understand the mechanisms that trigger these diseases we can go on to develop effective drugs to treat them."

He added that Monash's expertise in technology and its research facilities will enable Takeda to conduct drug discovery, research and pre-clinical pharmaceutical development activities for gastrointestinal diseases.