Biopharmaceutical company Cerevance revealed on Tuesday the launch of a research alliance with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited to identify novel target proteins expressed in the central nervous system as well as develop new therapies for certain GI disorders.

Under the terms of the multi-year research alliance, Takeda scientists will select, confirm and validate targets from rich gene expression data sets generated by Cerevance's NETSseq technology, which sorts and profiles specific neuronal and glial cell types in post-mortem human central nervous system tissue at unparalleled depth.

This agreement provides Cerevance with an upfront technology access fee and research support, as well as preclinical and clinical milestone payments and royalties as targets are validated and compounds are advanced through development and onto the market worldwide from Takeda.

In conjunction, Cerevance is eligible to receive development, commercialisation and net sales-based milestone payments that may exceed USD170m on a per target basis from Takeda.