Kissei's Central Research Laboratories oversees three main functions. Discovery research involves the search for new compounds, pharmacological research to investigate the effectiveness of these new compounds, and pharmacokinetic research to analyze the dynamics of the compounds in vivo. All research is conducted with close collaboration among the three groups.
♦ Discovery Research
The development of new drugs begins with discovery research. We aim to develop drugs that will meet the needs of the medical field and serve as new treatment options. First, through broad biological research, functional elements that play an important role in the onset of the disease are identified. Once these functional elements are determined to be valid targets for the discovery themes, a project team is created, composed of organic synthesis researchers and biological researchers, and we enter the stage of creating compounds that act on these functional elements. Molecular design algorithms are applied to synthesize compounds, and the biological activities of the compounds are efficiently evaluated using a biological activity evaluator, incorporating cutting edge technology. When narrowing down the candidate compounds for new drugs, pharmacokinetic evaluations and physical evaluations are conducted in addition to evaluations of the effectiveness and safety, and a search is conducted for compounds that meet the necessary characteristics for drugs. Kissei's drug discovery team attempts to create "innovative new drugs" that contribute to medicine through the synergy of "research", "focus", "creativity", and "decision making" on the part of the researchers.
♦ Pharmacological Research
The new drug candidate compounds that are selected through the screening process outlined above are subsequently applied to pharmacological research, which involves analyzing the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of the drugs and conducting comparisons with existing drugs. This research stage also incorporates research into the possible side effects of the drugs, or on what effects the drug will have on the body other than its expected pharmaceutical effects.
♦ Pharmacokinetics Research
Pharmacokinetic research involves investigation of the kinetics of new drug candidate compounds in vivo, including their absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. This research provides additional knowledge about the efficacy and safety of new drugs.
