Translational Strategies for Better Decision-Making in Drug Discovery
September 10, 2026 | Now Available On Demand
Improving Translational Decision-Making in Obesity and CKD with In Vivo Phenotyping and Clinically Relevant Models
Translational risk remains a major challenge in obesity and kidney disease drug development, often leading to uncertainty in preclinical decision-making.
In obesity, the success of GLP-1 therapies has set a new benchmark, driving the development of both novel mechanisms beyond GLP-1 and combination strategies to address its limitations, including nausea, muscle loss, and weight regain. However, conventional preclinical evaluation based on body weight alone often fails to distinguish true pharmacological efficacy from adverse effect–driven outcomes.
In kidney disease, limited clinical relevance of conventional models and difficulty linking efficacy to underlying mechanisms reduce confidence in candidate selection. In particular, capturing the diversity of CKD pathogenesis—from genetically driven disease progression to multifactorial glomerular injury such as FSGS—and translating these into predictable clinical outcomes remain key challenges.
In this webinar, we introduce how translational in vivo phenotyping, patient-relevant disease models, and advanced tissue analysis can improve interpretation of preclinical data and enable mechanism-driven candidate selection. These approaches help reduce translational risk, enable earlier go/no-go decisions, and support the identification of clinically viable drug candidates.
Key topics:
- Differentiating next-generation obesity therapies beyond GLP-1, including novel MOAs
- Early identification of safety liabilities using translational emesis and muscle assessments
- Improving CKD evaluation with proprietary, clinically relevant models (AXCC mouse and SHC rat)
- Characterizing renal drug responses using spatial and single-cell analysis
Speakers:
Kosuke Hitaka, MSc
Research Scientist, Translational Research Business Unit
Axcelead Drug Discovery Partners, Inc.
Shuichi Takagahara, PhD
Research Scientist, Translational Research Business Unit
Axcelead Drug Discovery Partners, Inc.
August 25, 2026 | Now Available On Demand
Improving Translational Decision-Making in Oncology and Immunology with Human-Relevant Models and Immune Profiling
Translational risk remains a major challenge in oncology and immunology drug discovery. In oncology, the complexity of the tumor microenvironment and the growing diversity of therapeutic modalities—including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and protein degraders—make it difficult to evaluate efficacy and predict clinical outcomes using conventional preclinical models. In immunology, disease heterogeneity and fundamental differences between rodent and human immune systems often limit confidence in target validation and candidate selection.
In this webinar, we will introduce practical approaches to improve translational decision-making by integrating fresh human sample-based assays, humanized mouse models, and advanced immune profiling platforms across oncology and immunology research. These approaches enable evaluation of diverse modalities, support deep characterization of tumor–immune and human immune responses, and allow quantitative analysis of rare cell populations using high-dimensional flow cytometry. By connecting target engagement, functional responses, and efficacy readouts, these strategies generate more clinically relevant insights and support better go/no-go decisions.
Key Topics:
- Improving translational confidence with fresh human sample–based oncology and immunology assays
- Evaluating tumor–immune and human immune responses using humanized mouse models
- Enabling translational evaluation of diverse modalities, including ADCs and protein degraders
Speakers:
Keisuke Fukuchi, Ph.D.
Director, Oncology, Translational Research Business Unit
Axcelead Drug Discovery Partners, Inc.
Masashi Yamasaki, Ph.D.
Director, Immunology, Translational Research Business Unit
Axcelead Drug Discovery Partners, Inc.