Shionogi research center

Shionogi Science Center

Development, Validation and Application of Novel Mechanistic Pain Biomarkers

Shionogi & Co., Ltd. is a Japanese pharmaceutical company which was established in 1879.
In 2011 Shionogi established an academia and industry collaborative program, the Shionogi Science Program (“SSP”). The aim of the Program is to encourage and support collaborative working to facilitate research and innovation.

By means of The Shionogi Science Program the company aims to create superior pharmaceuticals for those who suffer from diseases all over the world, and to fulfil their unmet medical needs.

In 2014 SMI received a 5 years SSP grant as the first research center in Denmark. The title of the grant is: Development, validation, and application of novel mechanistic pain biomarkers.

The aim is to develop translational pain biomarkers to be applied in animals as well as in humans for profiling new analgesic drugs. The scientists at Shionogi develop and validate the biomarkers in preclinical experiments and the researchers at SMI develop and validate the biomarkers in humans. At the end of the 5-year period, the hope is that the new biomarkers can be used in a study evaluating a new promising compound in development by Shionogi.

The program is evaluated once a year, and if the research plan is followed, the next year will be granted.

The Shionogi Science Center is headed by Prof., Dr. Lars Arendt-Nielsen.