Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Occi) The People's Key Mover, Promoting The Bioindustries in Osaka
North Osaka, rich in potential, Home to a growing world-class biotech cluster
North Osaka—the hub of drug companies, academic and research institutions
North Osaka is home to Osaka University, the National Cardiovascular Center and numerous other academic and research institutions conducting world-class research. The surrounding areas of Kyoto, Kobe and Nara also have research bodies and industries of the biotech sector.
Worthy of special note is Doshomachi, an area in central Osaka City.
Osaka has long been a leading center of commerce in Japan, where rice and many other commodities were gathered and then distributed to other parts of the country. It was highly prosperous in the Edo era and Doshomachi attracted manufacturers and wholesalers of drugs. To this day, the area is a hub of major pharmaceutical companies on a scale rarely found in the world. It plays no small part in the economic vitality of Osaka.
Capitalizing on such potential, a plan to create a world-class bio-cluster in North Osaka galvanized into action at the start of the 21st century.The OCCI set up the Bioindustry Promotion Committee as a vehicle for realizing the plan, adopting promotion strategies, campaigning with central government, organizing platforms for bio-industry promotion and much more.
Tanabe Seiyaku Co., Ltd a key Doshomachi company The second oldest pharmaceutical company in the world
Tanabe Seiyaku Co., Ltd. was the first company in Japan that engaged in the manufacture and selling of drugs.
Tanabeya Matazaemon, a business tycoon, obtained a trade license from the Shogun in 1604 and started trading drugs and other products with parts of Asia. In 1678, his descendent, Tanabeya Gohei, started making and selling a herbal composite in Tosabori (near Doshomachi). This is how Tanabe Seiyaku began. It has one of the longest histories among pharmaceutical companies in the world. Today, it plays a key role in Doshomachi and together with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited has been a keen and full supporter of the North Osaka Biocluster Project since its inception.
Tanabe Seiyaku is well known as the originator of Diltiazem. It is now directing its energy into the marketing of Remicade, a remedy for Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Among drugs under developed are Roflumilast (now in its fi nal clinical study phase), a therapeutic agent for asthma and COPD, and highly innovative drugs with unique mechanism of action for diabetes and pollakiuria. In research, extensive alliances with Japanese and foreign companies and institutes have been formed in the pursuit of leading-edge drug development research.
Deeply rooted in Osaka, Tanabe Seiyaku is helping to create the North Osaka Bio-cluster, so as to provide new and excellent products to the world.
North Osaka Bio-cluster High hopes from pharmaceutical companies
It is becoming increasingly difficult for an individual pharmaceutical company to develop a new drug due to the difficulty in finding “seeds” or due to limited funds. In order to reduce the risks of development and to ensure a higher success rate of new drug candidates, good liaison is essential among industrial, academic and government sectors.
The North Osaka Bio-cluster, exemplary in this respect, has raised great hopes of innovative drug development. The OCCI has taken on the role of coordinator, providing support by offering various platforms.
The North Osaka Bio-cluster hopes that pharmaceutical companies and other bio-clusters, irrespective of Japanese and foreign, will form partnerships that will lead to the creation of new drugs, in turn generating opportunities for widening the vision of Osaka researchers.
TANABE SEIYAKU CO.,LTD.
2-10, Dosho-machi 3-chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-8505, Japan
Tel.:+81-6-6205-5555
OCCI, leading the way in North Osaka Bio-cluster formation
OCCI Activities
Bio-industry promotion strategy - Bio Information Highway Plan Phase II in progress
In 2001, as a North Osaka Bio-cluster promotion strategy, the Bio Information Highway Plan Phase I was initiated. Together with Osaka Prefectural Government and Osaka University, OCCI successfully attracted 23 billion yen worth of national projects and facilities including the BioGrid Center Project and drug discovery projects of the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, the Knowledge cluster initiative and the Saito Bio Incubator. In the wake of this success, Phase II was begun in March 2004. The platform activities listed below are among the 25 projects now in progress.
Many platform activities
An excellent platform has been provided for the promotion of joint development through three-sector collaboration, especially in medical device, R&D support equipment, functional foods, and nanobiotechnology, and for the creation of bio-ventures originating from university research seeds.
1. Japan Bio-technology Business Competition
OCCI holds this competition in association with the Osaka Prefectural Government, aiming at venture-company creation and technology transfer. 28 bio-ventures have already started up. 15 technology transfers, 49 joint research and private business subsidized projects, 10 investment and loans, and 30 successful research funding bids are all to its credit.
2. Forum for Industrialization of Next Generation Medical System
Joint development of medical device is undertaken by indicating clinical needs and offering development seeds to private enterprise direct. Over 100 companies take part and over 25 universities and medical institutions across Japan make proposals. 43 proposals are being discussed with a view to joint development. 14 proposals have already seen commercialization.
3. Study Group on Development of Functional Food
Utilizing the latest information on functions and safety of foods, the Group develops new products and verifi cation methods.
4. Internet marketing of new drug discovery seeds
Dormant drug discovery seeds and technologies are listed on the Internet so they can be commercialized. Under trial operation.
5. Bio Business School supported by NPO Bio Business Station
Bio Business Station, an NPO set up to support bio-ventures, is supporting the School help create and foster venture companies.
Live Locally, Grow Globally
Osaka University's origin Schools set up by citizens
Osaka University has its roots in Kaitokudo and Tekijuku, schools set up by citizens in the Edo period.
Kaitokudo was founded in 1724. A place of learning for the people of Osaka, it flourished for 150 years and is the forebear of the arts faculties of the University.
Tekijuku was founded in 1838 by Ogata Koan. It had a school and a medical clinic, which later gave rise to the University's medical school. Ogata had studied medicine and Rangaku (Western learning through Dutch) in Nagasaki, the only window open to the outside in isolationist Japan. Through Tekijuku, he introduced smallpox vaccination and cholera treatment while educating a total of over 1000 students. Students became dynamic forces in the shaping of modern Japan, including Tsunetami Sano, founder of the Japan Red Cross Society and Sensai Nagayo, the pioneering scholar of hygiene in Japan.
In 1931, the Osaka Imperial University was inaugurated, backed by citizens' support and help in funding. The building of the university hospital was partly funded by public donations. Productive liaison between industrial, academic and government sectors is greatly desired today. Osaka University's history is a real embodiment of the concept.
Herein lies the baseline of our motto, Live Locally, Grow Globally.
Free of preconceptions, Eagerness to face new challenges
Kaitokudo believed that education was the most important legacy of its age. Even during recession, it taught philosophy, shunning utilitarian subjects such as accounting. Tekijuku did not confine its learning to medicine and Rangaku but included the humanities in its curriculum. Osaka University is proud of such heritage and values both basic and applied research in the natural sciences as well as cultural sciences.
Our breadth of vision is refl ected well in our organization and research topics.
The School of Human Sciences teaches students to scrutinize the very essence of human beings. The School of Engineering Science is based on an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research in science and engineering. The University's medical and engineering faculties have joined forces to create successful new disciplines such as Bioinformatics and Business Engineering, a fusion of marketing and technology.
The Faculty of Medicine has long pursued the now-popular research combining brain functionality and proteins. In the fields of sugar chain and immunology research, the University is a world leader. In association with other institutions, the University this year will start a new project on children's mental health.
Our breadth of vision engenders the eagerness to face new challenges free of preconceptions a precious gene that the University will pass on to posterity.
New campus in Nakanoshima Stronger contribution to the community
Under a new system of independent administration since 2004, Osaka University's free and liberal spirit has been strengthened.
Each year, 200˜300 patents are granted to the University and more than 50 venture companies have sprung up, ranking the University among the top in Japan on this score.
Last spring, the Nakanoshima Center was established, a third campus site located in the heart of Osaka City. Consultancy and seminars on technology and management topics for private business as well as public lectures/courses are on offer.
In the vicinity of Osaka University are located the National Cardiovascular Center, the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, the National Museum of Ethnology and many other educational and research institutions. Personnel interaction with these will be further promoted so that together we may serve the community and develop our network with the world.
Rooted in the local community but spreading wings globally, such are the human resources and research results that Osaka University aims to foster: Live Locally, Grow Globally the encapsulation of our aspiration.
Back to the basics
An immunologist turned clinical scientist turned administrative innovator, Tadamitsu Kishimoto now has a chance to return to his first love- basic science
In the 1970s and 1980s Tadamitsu Kishimoto made a name for himself by pursuing abstract scientific questions about how the immune system regulates itself. From the late 1980s he enhanced his prestige by translating his findings-notably the discovery of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its receptor-into clinical treatment for autoimmune diseases. From the late 1990s, as the president of Osaka University, he helped establish a research framework that promises to support innovation at the forefront of research for years to come.
A man of many hats, Kishimoto is once again donning the one that is most comfortable for him-that of basic scientist. With support of the five-year US$5 million grant from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, he will head back to the laboratory to address a basic science question that still nags at him.
Kishimoto's first major success came in 1986 with the discovery and cloning of interleukin-6, a gene first identified as giving rise to B-cells. [Hirano T, et al. Nature 324; 73–76.] It was a time when many scientists were proposing different names for factors known, but not yet isolated and identified, to stimulate B cell production. “Faxes were flying back and forth,” he recalls. “It was a very exciting time.”
Kishimoto says his medical training was of little use in these early stages when his team was struggling with the molecular techniques necessary for pulling the molecular needle out of the haystack. But his tenaciousness paid off. After much struggle, his team succeeded in isolating cDNA for what would be known as IL-6.
And when the cDNA threw up a surprise-being present in benign heart tumors that induced autoimmune disease symptoms such as fever, joint pains and anemia-Kishimoto's medical instincts kicked in. Following the pathway of IL-6, he identified its receptor unit-and one part of this unit was found to be involved in the signal-receptor process of a whole class of proteins that regulate the immune system. The discovery changed the way people thought. [Taga, T et al, Cell 58; 573–581]
In the early 1990s Kishimoto began investigating clinical applications of his findings in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Castleman's disease, a rare disorder in the lymphatic system that causes benign tumors. Working with Chugai, they found that blocking IL-6 improves anemia and serum levels of the C-reactive protein in Castleman's disease patients. An antibody for this orphan disease went on the market in June 2005 in Japan. Chugai will apply to use the antibody for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis patients in 2006 in Japan, where clinical trials concluded this year, and is developing an arthritis treatment with Roche in Europe and the United States where clinical trials are underway and an application will be submitted in 2007.
Since 1997, Kishimoto says he was continually distracted from the excitement of discovery by his concern for the future of Osaka University, where he became president in 1997. To ensure the international competitiveness of his university he created new graduate schools that have opened the doors for unique interdisciplinary research. “For the next step in research, the fusion of biology and nanotechnology will be very important,” he says.
The institutes have allowed Toshio Yanagida, an engineer by training, to pursue his instinctual grasp of the molecular processes. He can follow his fancy-and single molecules—around the cells to understand how they do their physical work in changing the cells' structures. Keiichi Namba was able to use electron cryomicroscopy to unravel the nanoscale machine-like properties of the helical propeller of the bacterial flagellar filament. [Nature, 424: 643–650 (2003)]
In 2003, at age 64—an age when most Japanese researchers are told to retire—he returned to the laboratory with the help of the Chugai's grant. He is happy to be back addressing basic scientific problems.
He realizes that the question he laid before himself will be a tough nut to crack. “We know that IL-6 therapy has a dramatic effect. But we don't know what changes before and after the treatment,” he says. He will begin by analyzing gene and protein expression profiles. “This could tell us what causes diseases like rheumatoid arthritis,” he says. Not satisfied with a partial understanding of IL-6's connection to disease development, he seeks the underlying basic principles. “I'm almost finished,” he says.
Contribution to Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Establishment of Japan-Thailand Research Collaboration Center
(RCC) On Emerging And Re-emerging Infections By The Research Institute For Microbial Diseases, Osaka University
The Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University JUST OPENED this September
Japan-Thailand Research Collaboration Center (RCC) on Emerging and Re-emerging Infections, National Institute of Health In Nonthaburi, Thailand. (Photo, main building of National Institute of Health)
The Research Institute for Microbial Diseases at Osaka University stands as the central research organization for the research of infectious diseases in Japan. Scientists are researching a broad range of topics from basic study of microbiology to human immunology and clinical application of new vaccines utilizing the most advanced laboratory equipment available.
Throughout its history, the institute has achieved many significant research results, including the discovery of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and other pathogenic organisms and the development of vaccines, and contributed the results to society via the Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases of Osaka University, a vaccine manufacturer.
Currently, our world is being attacked by new emerging infectious diseases such as avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and the social and economical damage by such is immense. It is therefore essential to develop and integrate international research networks in order to contain these infectious diseases.
The Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, established the Japan-Thailand Research Collaboration Center (RCC) on Emerging and Re-emerging Infections in September 2005 with the purpose of extending its research network to other areas in Asia.
The RCC collaborates with the National Institute of Health of Thailand (Department of Medical Sciences, Thailand Ministry of Public Health) for infectious disease control and prevention. In addition, the following institutions are planning to share research resources with the RCC: National Institute of Animal Health (National Agriculture and Bio-oriented Research Organization, Incorporated Administrative Agency), Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Medical Institute of Bioregulation at Kyushu University and Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health.
The RCC is equipped with the most recent research equipment including biosafety level 3 laboratories and conducts interdisciplinary medical and biological research that contributes to the establishment of anti-infectious disease measures, i.e., identification and analysis of new pathogenic microorganisms, development of new vaccines, and conduct of epidemiologic studies.
The main research themes of the RCC include the following 3 topics:
Research and surveillance of avian influenza and other zoonotic infections
HIV/AIDS epidemiological survey
Intestinal infections
The RCC also has missions to establish international research collaboration networks by, for example, constructing efficient information dissemination systems of infection via the website and to foster young capable researchers of infections diseases in Southeast Asia.
The RCC invites themes for collaborative research from not only Thailand but all Southeast Asian countries in pursuit of safety and security of people in Asia.
Yoshitake Nishimune, MD
Professor and Director
Japan-Thailand Research Collaboration Center (RCC)
on Emerging and Re-emerging Infections
88/7 Soi Bamrasnaradura
Tiwanon Road
Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand
e-mail: nishimun@biken.osaka-u.ac.jp
or
Taroh Kinoshita, PhD
Professor and Director
Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University
3-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
e-mail: tkinoshi@biken.osaka-u.ac.jp
This project is part of the “Research Center Establishment Program for Containment of Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases” funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan and in addition to the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases of Osaka University, the Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo and the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, also participate in the program and are going to establish research centers and construct international research networks in China and Vietnam, respectively, for collaborative research and information dissemination in Asia.
Institute for Protein Research Osaka University
Director: Hideo Akutsu
e-mail: TANPAKU-S@star.jim.osaka-u.ac.jp
IPR was founded in 1958 by Shiro Akabori to promote protein sciences in Japan. It is an internationally unique research facility that focuses on proteins as the foundation of the activities of life.
Major Research Activities
Membrane Proteins
In 1962 Ryo Sato discovered cytochrome P450, then isolated, and purified it from membranes, and in 1995 Tomitake Tsukihara succeeded in X-ray structure analysis of the first mammalian membrane protein, bovine cytochrome c oxidase (figure on right). Current advances in the International Frontier for Membrane Research Program include structural research to elucidate reaction mechanisms for cytochrome c oxidase, the mitochondrial outer-membrane protein monoamine oxidase A, and the bacterial multidrug transporters MexA, OprM, and AcrB.
Brain and Neural System related Proteins
As a participant in the National Project on Protein Structural and Functional Analyses (Protein 3000), IPR is applying structural and functional proteomics research to neural system-related proteins that are involved with such processes as circadian rhythms and neuronal differentiation (figure on right).
21COE program for Structure, Function, and Reconstitution of Biological Macromolecular Machineries.
As part of its aggressive research into this field, IPR has succeeded in the X-ray structure analysis and explication of the mechanism of autonomous structure formation in the 700Å-diameter rice dwarf virus, and is researching the structure and function of the extracellular matrix proteins, electron transport complexes in photosynthesis, and DNA-recombination factors. IPR is also contributing to the education of graduate students.
International Coe for Protein Sciences
International Function for Protein Database
The three-dimensional (3-D) structure of proteins and other biological macromolecules stored in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) are essential for life sciences. IPR (PDBj) is contributing to the construction and dissemination of a protein 3-D structure database, in cooperation with centers in the United States (Research Collaboratory Structural Bioinformatics) and Europe (European Bioinformatics Institute). IPR (PDBj) has also established the Osaka branch of BioMagResBank (BMRB) for world-wide biological NMR database in collaboration with University of Wisconsin. Visit the website to deposit your data and search for what you want.
URL: http://www.pdbj.org/
PDBj :one of wwPDB members for Protein structure database BMRB Osaka Center for Biological NMR database
International Joint-use Institute
The Division of International Collaboration Research, led by a foreign principal investigator, was established this year as a key station for international scientific collaboration.
Foreign visiting professors and international collaborative researchers are joining the research at IPR with financial support.
Support is provided to enable researchers from overseas to make use of facilities such as MS, NMR (solution & solid), and the SPring-8 beamline, which was designed for biological macromolecular assemblies, in their research. Participation is elicited every year (visit IPR website)
National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute
The National Cardiovascular Center, an unique and specialized government (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare; MHLW) oriented institution, now in the 29th year since its foundation, has become a well-known presence both nationally and internationally as a specialist medical institution for the research and advanced treatments of a wide range of cardiovascular diseases including cerebrovascular, cardiovascular, peripheral vascular and lifestyle-related diseases. At the hospital, complicated heart operations, and organ and tissue transplantation as well as microscopic, robotic, less invasive surgeries have been performed with the highest number of patients in Japan.
The Research Institute, located adjacent to the 640-bed hospital, conducts many projects closely connected to clinical needs - genomic study related to gene diagnosis/therapy, peptide and protein study related to innovative drug synthesis, nano-technology in medicine, molecular imaging and regenerative medicine. Translational research is also being vigorously pursued, with a strong emphasis on regenerative (cell transplant) medicine and the development of new drug and device “seeds” originating from the Center. Several innovative drug and device candidates are beginning to emerge out of such research endeavors.
The hills of Senri in north Osaka where the Center is situated is a hub of diverse university and research organizations and biotechnology companies, Osaka University and National Institute of Biomedical Innovation to name but two. Research in partnership with these external bodies is now actively underway.
Last year, we established the Advanced Medical Engineering Center as a way of implementing the Medical Device Industry Vision and Vision of the Pharmaceutical Industry promoted by the MHLW and many above-mentioned research works are being carried out with strong collaboration with industrial researchers.
Proteomics
Kenji Kangawa
Deputy Director
Advances in Searching for and Functional Analysis of Peptides That Hold the Key to Life Science Research
In the Department of Biochemistry, novel peptides are being discovered, research is being carried out to analyze the structure and physiological functions of those peptides, and new drugs are also being developed under the leadership of Dr. Kenji Kangawa, Deputy Director of the Institute.
Dr. Kangawa discovered and succeeded in determining the structure of the novel growth-hormone-releasing peptide, ghrelin, in 1999. Ghrelin also promotes appetite and improves cardiac function. Clinical trials of ghrelin for therapeutic use in severe heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have begun.
The novel cardiovascular-regulating peptide, adrenomedullin, discovered by Dr. Kangawa and co-workers in 1993 has vasodilatory, cardioprotective, vasoprotective, and angiogenic effects. Translational research of adrenomedullin for myocardial infarction, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and regenerative medicine is underway.
A considerable amount of research is also being carried out on natriuretic peptides. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) have already been developed for clinical use in diagnosis and therapeutic drugs for heart failure. Research is also underway on the use of C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) to prevent restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) for ischemic heart disease and to reduce cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis after myocardial infarction.
Naoto Minamino
Director, Department of Pharmacology:
Construction of Peptidome Database, Ongoing
As a mainstay of post-genomic research, proteome analysis has been a subject of worldwide attention, while in the Department of Pharmacology, interesting results have been accumulated in the research of peptide analysis, through the efforts of Dr. Naoto Minamino, Department Director.
In contrast to the number of orphan receptors inferred from the genome database, the structure and function have been analyzed in only a small number of about 100 of biologically active peptides. Director Dr. Minamino and his colleagues are searching for novel peptides through a combination of the data of endogenous peptides and various procedures. In 2003, they discovered three calcitonin receptor-stimulating peptides (CRSP) in porcine brain.
Their goal is to construct a multifaceted fact database (Peptidome database) in which all the peptides in tissues and cells will be comprehensively analyzed. The information obtained will be stored based on physicochemical properties and molecular weight, along with data such as structure, relative abundance in the tissues and cells, biological activity, and receptors. A complete database will make it possible not only to search for novel biologically active peptides but also to provide new approaches by fully exploiting endogenous peptides to elucidate the causes of disease, including cardiovascular disease, and to develop diagnostic methods, and medicinal and pharmaceutical agents.
Noritoshi Nagaya
The Advanced Medical Engineering Center
Director, Department of Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering:
Progress in Application of Myocardial and Vascular Regeneration Using Cells and Peptides
Dr. Noritoshi Nagaya, Director of the Department of Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering at the Advanced Medical Engineering Center, is engaged in research which ranges broadly from basic research to clinical applications, such as transplantation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells and allogeneic and xenogenic organ replacement.
Therapy for dilated and ischemic cardiomyopathy, in which myocardial and vascular regeneration is brought about with transplantation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells, has been developed in collaboration with the Departments of Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiovascular Surgery, and is already being used in clinical practice. Regulatory peptides have also been used in the development of therapies for intractable heart diseases. Ghrelin has been tried in the therapy of heart failure and adrenomedullin has been applied in translational research on the vascular regeneration in myocardial infarction, pulmonary hypertension, and peripheral artery obstruction.
Other topics of interest include the creation of genetic experimental models such as mini-pigs with stable SLA genes and a known genetic background, tailor-made tissue transplantation in which patients' cells are incorporated into allogeneic or xenogenic decellularized tissues, optimal methods for isolating and preserving donor organs in heart or lung transplantation, and immunosuppressive therapy for organ transplants.
Functional and Imaging Analysis
Shigeo Wakabayashi
Director, Department of Molecular Physiology:
Challenge from Basic Science for Overcoming Cardiovascular Diseases: Elucidation of Structure, Function and Pathogenic Significance of Ion Transport Proteins
Cardiovascular diseases are closely linked to abnormal regulation of ion concentrations such as Ca2+, Na+, and H+ in cardiac and vascular cells. Dr. Shigeo Wakabayashi, Director of the Department of Molecular Physiology, and his colleagues have elucidated the molecular structures, detailed functions, and pathogenic significance of Na+/H+ and Na+/Ca2+ exchangers which regulate myocardial ion metabolism. They are also trying to elucidate the regulatory mechanism which involves various factors (such as CHP, CaM, and CaN) that interact with these transporters, to clarify their crystal structures, and to develop drugs based on these structures. Progress has also been made in research approached from the standpoint of disease. Research is also being conducted on the molecular mechanisms involved in, for example, how abnormalities of cytoskeletal proteins lead to muscle degeneration as well as cell death in intractable cardiomyopathy and muscular dystrophy. It was recently found that the stretch-activated Ca2+- permeable channel (TRPV2) is activated in the muscle-cell membranes of model animals and patients having such degenerative diseases, and that excess Ca2+ influx mediated by this activation is a dominant factor resulting in muscle degeneration. The development of new drugs capable of specifi cally targeting such Ca2+-permeable channels is another important research topic.
Naoki Mochizuki
Director, Department of Structural Analysis:
Bioimaging for the Visualization of Cardiovascular Cellular Mechanisms of Contraction and Motility, and Cell-cell Adhesion
Bioimaging, which shows in images how and where proteins function in living cells, is at the cutting edge of molecular biology. Dr. Naoki Mochizuki, Director of the Department of Structural Analysis, and colleagues have been using bioimaging in their research on cardiomyocyte, vascular smooth-muscle cell, and vascular endothelial cell mechanisms of contraction and motility and cell-cell adhesion. Some striking images of alterations involving the movement of Fer tyrosine kinase localized to microtubules and of FBP17 involved in endocytosis have been posted on their web site.
They have also developed an intracellular molecular imaging technique based on FRET (Fluorescent Resonance Energy Transfer) to visualize molecular on/off switching in small molecular weight GTP-binding proteins. Through further integration of protein structural imaging and bioimaging, they are taking aim at functional analysis of the target molecules which would be employed in the next generation medical methods, and drug development.
Hidehiro Iida
The Advanced Medical Engineering Center
Director, Department of Investigative Radiology:
Progress in Imaging Technology for Diagnostic Imaging Devices, and Potential for Use of Imaging in Early Diagnosis and New Drug Development
At the Advanced Medical Engineering Center, Department of Investigative Radiology, Director Dr. Hidehiro Iida and colleagues are evolving imaging technologies for cutting-edge diagnostic imaging equipment (including PET, MRI, SPECT, and X-ray CT) that are indispensable for the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease. A new PET system that compensates for patient movement, requires less time, and is less stressful for patients is currently being introduced into clinical applications.
The Center is also working toward the construction of an integrated diagnostic imaging system using molecular imaging, that will combine diagnostic imaging with the use of tracers (ligand/nanoparticle/peptide etc.) For new drug development, this system can be used in preclinical and clinical trials. In the future, it is hoped that diagnostic imaging and tracers can be applied not only in the area of cardiovascular disease, but also to the early diagnosis of cancer and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, and to the target selection for new drug development.
Nanomedicine
Hidezo Mori
Director, Department of Cardiac Physiology:
Nano-Level Imaging Technologies for Structural and Functional Analysis of Disease-Related Proteins and New Microangiography for Clinical Use
Dr. Hidezo Mori, Director of the Department of Cardiac Physiology, and his colleagues are engaged in research aimed at next generation therapy based on the two fields of basic research and translational research.
In the area of basic research, Dr. Hidezo Mori is playing a major role as the principal investigator in the project under the MHLW science research grant, entitled Nano-Level Imaging for Structural and Functional Analysis of Disease-Related Proteins and also devoting his efforts to crystallography of disease-related proteins using synchrotron radiation and visualization of protein dynamics and interactions. The goal is to build a foundation for structural medicine, which includes structural physiology and structure-based drug design, both of which are based on the structural biology of human proteins at the atomic level.
In the area of translational research, the team has successfully developed microangiography mounted with a synchrotron radiation source, or newly developed X-ray source which is installable at hospital, being capable of visualizing micro-vessels not greater than 0.1 mm in diameter, which cannot be seen by conventional angiography. A microangiography for hospital use is actually used for patient diagnosis at the National Cardiovascular Center, and is expected to be particularly useful in the evaluation of regenerative medicine and the assessment of microcirculatory disorders in various organs.
Masaru Sugimachi
The Advanced Medical Engineering Center
Director, Department of Cardiovascular Dynamics:
Development of Bionic Systems Backed by Nanotechnology
Dr. Mararu Sugimachi, Director of the Department of Cardiovascular Dynamics at the Advanced Medical Engineering Center and his team is developing artifi cial therapeutic devices referred to as “bionic devices,” which is an integration of biology and electronics. One example is a bionic pacemaker, which, unlike conventional types, is characterized by functioning in synchronization with physiological regulatory mechanisms.
In chronic heart failure and other diseases, in which the body imposes an undue burden on itself, the progression of the disease could be controlled for longer periods of time if the parasympathetic nervous system, which allows the heart to rest, could be activated and the sympathetic nerves conversely could be suppressed. Dr. Sugimachi and his colleagues have devised an implantable bionic device that could control the autonomic nervous system, and plans are currently underway to treat heart failure patients with this device. They have also begun a clinical study with the objective of preventing an unexpected sharp decline of blood pressure during operation by controlling the autonomic nervous system and a clinical study of a self-administering device for use in patients with acute myocardial infarction.
Dr. Sugimachi and his colleagues are also making plans for the integration of sensors, circuits, and stimulators in a single-chip in which the nanotechnology would be exploited to make bionic devices more compact, more energy-efficient, and capable of longer continuous use.
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
To ensure long, energetic and healthy life in a sustainable industrial society
R & D in medical engineering to sustain and boost human health: Working in Kansai, the hub of public, private and academic sector activities in life science
The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) is a public research organization formed from the 15 research laboratories of the former Agency of Industrial Science and Technology and acquiring independent administrative institution status in 2001. Research activities have been ongoing in many fields but the unifying aim is to improve standards in industrial technology. President Hiroyuki Yoshikawa believes, “Improving Japan's industrial technology standards is necessary not only as a means of honing our country's international competitiveness but also as a means of creating a sustainable society, a task now facing all mankind. We can expedite the realization of a stable world order.”
The birth rate is rapidly declining and the population is aging in Japan and many other parts of the world today. This has led to a great need to ensure that people enjoy their longevity in good health. Meanwhile, in order not to waste the limited natural resources and energy available, man must resolve environmental problems, most notably that of global warming. Thus, a major reform and shift in industrial structure towards a sustainable society is imperative.
President Yoshikawa explains: “Life science and biotechnology are expected to make important contributions to overcoming these problems that we face.”
AIST Kansai is AIST's research center in the Kansai area. Its development effort focuses on medical engineering that would assist in maintaining and boosting health in an aging society. President Yoshikawa adds, “Kansai is home to a large number of public, private and academic sector bodies in the life science and medical engineering sectors. We are conducting our activities in close liaison with them.”
Discovering treatments for stress-related diseases by developing identification and measuring methods of stress markers
We live in an age full of stress. Anxiety, anger and sorrow resulting from human relationships, fatigue from work, noise, toxic chemical substances, viruses, bacteria, ultraviolet radiation and other natural threats - the sources of stress around us are countless. Stress is not only threatening our physical bodies but also our mental health.
AIST's Human Stress Signal Research Center (HSSRC) interprets stress broadly as stimuli and signals to living organisms. HSSRC is researching the interrelationship of stress with the human body and health with the primary aim of identifying stress markers. Director Etsuo Niki remarks, “We have already succeeded in the identification of several types of stress markers. At present, we are verifying their effectiveness.” Development in tandem is underway on devices that would speedily make quantitative measurement of these stress markers. A lab-on-a-chip for stress marker measurement has already been created.
“Our ultimate aim is to develop new diagnostic, prevention and treatment methods of stress-induced diseases, which would in turn create and successfully develop a comprehensive health industry that improves quality of life for all,” says Director Niki of his ambition.
Human Stress Signal Research Center
http://unit.aist.go.jp/hss-center/index_e.html
Contributing to regenerative medicine through new technologies for measuring and manipulating cell function and for cell and tissue utilization
One of the central issues in the post-genome era is to move toward manifesting functions equivalent to or better than those of natural cells by understanding the movement of biological molecules and the flow of information transmission in living cells, and by manipulating living cells. However, Director Noboru Yumoto of the AIST's Research Institute for Cell Engineering (RICE) states, “We have already reached the limits of conventional cell engineering and genetic manipulation technologies, and breakthroughs based on fusing these with other technologies are being sought around the globe.”
The RICE has developed technologies that regenerate and replace on the cellular and tissue level bodily functions lost by disease or accident. Director Yumoto says, “One of these technologies regenerates tissues such as bone, cartilage, cardiac muscle and blood vessels using three-dimensional cell culture technology, and is able to make tissues and cells with notably superior biocompatibility.”
Moreover, cell chips that make possible a comprehensive analysis of genes that carry out cell functions, and a “bioluminescent molecular probe” that is useful in visualizing the molecular events in living cells have also been developed. According to Director Yumoto, “We are conducting further research targeting the development of technologies that can manipulate cells based on the cell information obtained by these technologies.”
Research Institute for Cell Engineering
Collaborative Research Facility is Opened to Bioventure Businesses
A biotechnology-related collaborative research facility has been established at AIST Kansai. To activate the R&D potential and technological seeds that AIST has, occupancy and use of laboratories and research rooms is being offered to businesses and researchers aiming to create venture businesses and new industries. Advanced measuring instruments such as electron microscopes can be utilized and collaborative research with AIST can be efficiently conducted.
Successful Identification and Structural Determination of Oxidative Stress Markers
HSSRC recently succeeded in identifying new oxidative stress markers (Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. (2005) 336, 1-9). The method of structural determination and analysis of oxides of such lipids as linoleic ester and cholesterol, and of oxides of such proteins as peroxiredoxin (Prx) and DJ-1 has been established, and it has been confirmed that the blood concentrations of these oxides correlate with a variety of diseases. “In the future we aim to use these markers for diagnosing bodily health, for the early detection of disease, as well as for evaluating the efficacy of foods, supplements and drugs.” (Director Niki)
Development of The World's First Enzyme Chip That Analyzes The Interaction of New Drug Candidate Substances and Target Proteins Using Multiple Samples
A new type of enzyme chip has been developed by RICE (Nature Biotechnol. (2005) 23, 622-627). If, for example, multiple types of enzymes are fixed to a chip and allowed to react with a new drug candidate substance, the specificity and the strength of the interaction of the compound with multiple enzymes can be quickly analyzed. Jun Miyake, Leader of TERC, explains, “The development of new drugs until now often had to be discontinued due to adverse reactions in the later stages of the development. However, if use of this chip allows simultaneous and efficient analysis of efficacy and safety on the level of molecular interactions, then the pharmacological efficacy and adverse reactions of compounds can be grasped at an early stage prior to pre-clinical studies.”
A Technology to Compensate for Disabilities Based on Neuroimaging Research is Under Development
The Living Informatics Group, Institute for Human Science and Biomedical Engineering has been conducting unique collaborative research at AIST Kansai involving universities, hospitals and businesses in the Kansai region.
Non-invasive methods such as the measurement of brain magnetic fields and electroencephalogram have been used to research human sensory and language systems, and specifically, early practical applications are expected to address:
1. Development of algorithms to measure and analyze brain functions with high temporal and spatial precision, and use of these algorithms to clarify higher order visual cognition processes and the neurological basis of language function disorders; and
2. Development of technologies to compensate auditory function based on understanding the cerebral mechanisms of bone-conducted ultrasound perception.
Senri Life Science Project
Research and development has remarkably been progressed in the field of life science. Aiming to promote innovative research in advanced field of life science, it was strongly anticipated to establish facilities to support research and development for international, interdisciplinary and cross-industrial projects. Based on the concept of Northern Osaka, to be a franchise in life science research , said by Dr. Yuichi Yamamura of ex President of Osaka University, Senri Life Science Center Co. Ltd and Senri Life Science Foundation were established in March 1988 and July 1990, respectively.
The Foundation is implementing public programs promoting life science through supporting knowledgebased cluster creation project, and organizing scientific forum and technical workshop as a program to bring up man of ability, as well as continuous alliance with universities and research institutes.
The knowledge-based cluster creation project is aiming to produce innovative drugs in Northern Osaka area and has facilitated research for molecular targeted drug and therapy to immunity-infection diseases, leading to active fruits.
The Foundation will keep in mind of clear vision on creating bio-medical cluster fostering industry with global competitiveness.
Senri Life Science Center is the facility where the Senri Life Science Foundation bases its activities. The Center is located in the green hills of northern Osaka, but is accessible in only 15 minutes from both Osaka International Airport and Shin Osaka (Bullet Train) Station. From down town Osaka, it takes 20 minutes by subway. The Senri Life Science Center is surrounded by several research institutes including those of Osaka University.
A convenient transport system and strong alliances with research facilities near the Center make it an ideal place for international conferences. The center has two halls, one exhibition room and 14 seminar rooms. A simultaneous interpretation system and PC connection facilities for presentation accommodation are available. On site accommodation provides a perfect atmosphere for interaction. Hotel accommodation is also available within walking distance.
Senri Life Science Foundation
Senri Life Science Center Co. Ltd
Senri Life Science Project
Detailed information should be requested to Senri Life Science Center, Co. Ltd.
1-4-2 Shinsenri Higashi-machi, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0082, Japan
TEL +81 6 6873 2010 (reservation) FAX +81 6 6873 2011
Welcome To “saito Life Science Park”
Osaka has been home to a large number of pharmaceutical companies for four centuries. In particular, North Osaka is home to Osaka University and many other research institutions and wold-class researchers in the biomedical sector.
Saito in north Osaka is where a new town is under construction, designed to create an environment excelling in amenities that blend in with surrounding nature and offering residents a multifunctional town where they can work, live, learn and play. The Life Science Park (LSP) is a 22-hectare site within Saito. The LSP will form the core of the North Osaka Bio-medical Cluster and is expected to become Japan's leading hub for drug discovery.
Since the LSP was officially opened last year, already 30% of the land is already built on or earmarked. National projects such as the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation and Saito Bio Incubator have started operation in the LSP. Five other facilities are confirmed for construction.
Saito LSP offers not only support systems for the locating of bioscience-sector companies but also highly convenient transport access and a good residential environment surrounded by greenery. There is an international school nearby, making it an attractive location for foreign researchers. With a strong global focus, Saito LSP welcomes new members to its community.
By delivering the fruits of life science, we want to improve the quality of life of everybody... Saito is built on this aspiration. In as many ways as possible, Saito will support all those who wish to apply and commercialize the results of life science research.
Collaboration through Liaison between Industrial, Academic and Government Sectors
Osaka has been historically known as the “city of merchants” and the spirit of entrepreneurship lives on today. “Go and do something different and interesting,” people would say.
In Saito, you will find this vitality of Osaka embodied in its research network and business network key facilities including Osaka University, the National Cardiovascular Center, and the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, life science sector companies, bio-ventures, venture supporters, economic organizations, local governments. We all await you with a very warm welcome.
The Saito Bioscience Seminar is a twice-a-month event when researchers, private enterprise, venture managers and business supporters working in Saito come together.
Each Seminar is given by a guest lecturer who is an expert in leading-edge research or business. New human networks and collaboration result from these sessions.
Incubation Facilities at Saito Bio Incubator
In order to commercialize seeds that research bodies in Osaka possess, an entrepreneur incubator facility has been in operation since July 2004, the Saito Bio Incubator.
This Incubator was built by government funding but is leased out to Bio Sight Capital Co., Ltd., a venture capital firm. This is the first attempt at a government-built privately-operated system, aimed at harnessing private-sector know-how in order to provide a broad range of incubation support.
Currently, over 20 bio-venture and other companies are tenants at the Incubator, which is now fully occupied. In the adjoining Saito Bio Hills Center (see photo on left), some ten rental lab spaces are planned to be made available as an extension to the Incubator.
Strategic Japanese Patent Counsel for the Life Sciences Community
by John A. Tessensohn & Shusaku Yamamoto
SHUSAKU YAMAMOTO
15 Floor, Crystal Tower
1-2-27, Shiromi, Chuo-Ku
Osaka, 540-6015, Japan
SHUSAKU YAMAMOTO, headquartered in Osaka, is the premiere biotech life sciences patent & IP practice in Japan. We have prosecuted and litigated industry-setting Japanese patents owned by companies like Amgen, Affymetrix, Biogen, Chiron, Gilead, Genentech & Scios; including groundbreaking inventions discovered at institutions like Harvard, Johns Hopkins, University of California, MIT, MRC, Rockefeller University, Stanford & Yale. Our biotech patent practice has evolved in tandem with the challenging needs of the world's biotechnology/pharmaceutical industries. An in-depth understanding of our clients' technologies is crucial for their Japanese patent success and that is why almost all of our life sciences patent staff have PhD or Masters degrees to match our clients' technology strengths. No other patent law firm in Japan has this unparalleled concentration of technological prowess.
We are honored to share with nature's readers some strategic Japanese patent counsel.
Limited Six Month Grace Period
It is not widely known but Japan does has a six month grace period. If a researcher publishes a paper before a patent application was filed, Japanese patent rights will not be lost if the researcher files a direct Japanese grace period patent application within six months from that publication date. The grace period claim must be made at the time of filing and certain other conditions are applicable.
Japan's six month grace period is only applicable where the “person having the right to obtain a patent” has (1) conducted an experiment, (2) made a presentation in an online or printed publication, or (3) made a presentation in writing at a Japanese Patent Office (JPO) designated study meeting”.
The direct Japanese grace period application can ONLY be filed as a (i) PCT application designating Japan OR (ii) direct JPO filing within six months from said publication date. Japan's grace period cannot be claimed by filing a regular or provisional US application first, and then file a Japanese case within one year from the initial US filing date. The grace period filing can only be achieved by (i) or (ii) as described earlier.
Infringement Immunity for Research
Japan's experimental use provision, section 69(1), provides that “the effects of a patent right shall not extend to the working of the patent right for the purposes of experiment or research.” If the purpose of the research is economical or commercial, said acts will be patent infringement.
The accepted meaning of the phrase “experiment or research” in the Japanese patent law section 69(1) is “experiment or research in order to improve technologies”, and not “experiment or research in order to produce or assign the product covered by the patent”. Experiments conducted to test the commercial viability is not “experimental use”.
Industry commissioned research conducted by academics in Japan will be infringing since they are for commercial purposes.
“Experimental use” is determined as an experiment conducted to test only a technical effect of the patented invention for noncommercial purposes.
The Supreme Court of Japan had decided that conducting clinical trials for Japanese regulatory approval is not patent infringement under section 69(1) so long as the acts done before the expiry of the patent are for the purpose of securing health regulatory approval to sell the drug after the expiry of the patent, Ono Pharmaceutical v. Kyoto Pharmaceutical (1999). The scope of this decision is applicable to the clinical trials of pharmaceutical products (generic, new chemical entity or biologic) that requires regulatory approval under Japan's Pharmaceutical Affairs Law.
Stringent Data Requirements for Therapeutic Inventions
For inventions that claim a pharmacological or therapeutic effect, data describing such an effect MUST be included in the specification as filed. The JPO does not have the USPTO patent practice where an applicant can provide additional post-filing data to support therapeutic assertions made in the specification.
If data demonstrating such therapeutic effect was not found in the specification as filed, the application will be rejected as not enabled and/or not completed. Said pharmacological or therapeutic activity cannot be predicted or inferred, unless it was common general knowledge, and data confirming such activity has to be in application as filed.
While our Firm does not agree with this hardline Japanese position, this position has been endorsed by several Japanese High Court rulings. In recent years, there is an emerging US judicial trend invalidating some pioneering biotechnology patents on the lack of written description and/or enablement grounds. These developments are unfortunate for science and industry as a whole.
Many researchers use the US provisional patent system for a “cheap and quick” patent fi ling date but the wisdom and value of such cases in Japan are questionable if they do not contain therapeutic data supporting the invention as claimed. So it is advisable to perform more experiments and include as much demonstrative data or working examples in the patent application to have a broader and stronger Japanese and US patent.
AnGes - JAPAN'S
BIOPHARMACEUTICAL PIONEER
“There was no fundamental medicine for those diseases. We want to make our medicine available as soon as possible,” says Ei Yamada, President & CEO at AnGes.
AnGes MG, a gene therapy developer, is one of the few Japanese biotech start-ups that fancy investors. Since it was founded in 1999, the spin-off from Osaka University has been on a steady growth path, and now it's about to beat competitors in completing a clinical trial of a key drug candidate. That will pave the way for commercializing genetic medicine, a type of medicine that no one has marketed yet in developed countries.
The most important of three projects in AnGes's pipeline is developing a drug based on HGF (Hepatocyte Growth Factor) gene. HGF was originally discovered in mid-1980s as a protein that helps hepatic cells multiply. But in 1995, Ryuichi Morishita, Osaka University professor and later founder of AnGes, developed a method to regenerate blood vessels just by injecting HGF genes into muscles.
That discovery has opened the door for curing fatal maladies caused by clogged vessels, such as ischemic heart diseases and peripheral arterial diseases. “There was no fundamental medicine for those diseases. We want to make our medicine available as soon as possible,” says Ei Yamada, President & CEO at AnGes.
Peripheral arterial diseases are often triggered as diabetes progresses, which could lead to deteriorating blood circulations and necrotizing lower limbs. In the U.S., about 100,000 people lose their legs in amputations due to the disease every year. While current treatments cannot ensure a sufficient recovery, HGF genetic medicine could become an easier, safer and more effective treatment. AnGes says HGF genetic medicine has a stronger capability to regenerate vessels and induce less side effects than rival drug candidates.
So far, development looks to be going promptly. AnGes hopes to complete Phase III clinical trial in Japan for HGF genetic medicine for use in peripheral arterial diseases. It also wants to tap the much bigger U.S. and European markets, aiming to end Phase II testing in the U.S. swiftly. And the company has recently found that HGF could be also applied to treat Parkinson's disease.
In the fledgling biotech industry in Japan, AnGes has always been on the leading edge. One reason, Yamada says, is that HGF gene itself had a huge potential. In addition, AnGes's able management and strong passion to save patients have led to a number of strategic partnerships. In 2001, AnGes cut a deal with Daiichi Pharmaceutical, which agreed to shoulder hefty expenditure to develop HGF genetic medicine in return for marketing licenses. That alliance enabled AnGes to become the first university start-up to go public in 2002.
In recent moves, AnGes joined hands with Japan's Alfresa Pharma to develop a drug candidate for atopic dermatitis therapy, which is based on a synthetic gene that inhibits NFkB. It has recently entered Phase I testing in Japan. What's more, AnGes is developing an effective and safe vector, which helps carry genes into a cell, by using membranes of a virus called Hamagglutinating Virus of Japan (HVJ).
Despite its small size, the 85-employee company sets ambitious goals: to put HGF genetic medicine on market, and to grow out of being a venture company in the near future. “While making efforts to get stronger, we aim to take the next steps towards becoming a comprehensive pharmaceutical company,” Yamada says.
Tokyo Office
Mita Suzuki building 5th Floor,
5-20-14 Shiba, Minato-ku
Tokyo 108-0014
Tel: 03-5730-2753
Fax: 03-5730-2676
E-mail: thayashi@anges-mg.com
Only One Bio-Technology Company Strex Inc.
Strex, Inc. was established in October of 2003 as the first venture company by Nagoya University. The company was founded by Associate Prof. Keiji Naruse of the Department of Physiology (Cell Biophysics) at Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine (currently Prof. at the Department of Cardiovascular Physiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences).
The company supplies devices that make use of mechanical stress and soft lithography, which are Prof. Naruse's areas of interest, in bioresearch and clinical applications.
Prof. Naruse was fortunate in this start up. He encountered Norio Ishida, CEO of an instrument manufacturing company and current CEO of Strex, Inc., and Hiroyuki Masumoto, CEO of B-Bridge International, Inc., who primarily handles sales of bioresearch reagents in Silicon Valley in the US. At, Strex, Inc., the roles are divided up, where Prof. Naruse proposes ideas based on the results of his research, Mr. Ishida develops the products, and Mr. Masumoto handles overseas business and negotiations.
SOFT LITHOGRAPHY IS EMPLOYED TO EXPOSE CELLS TO STRETCH STRESS. Stretch System
The stretch system is a system in which, out of the various types of mechanical stress formed in living organisms, uniaxial stretch stress is applied to tissues and cells with high precision and reproducibility. For example, the movement of the vascular wall in association with cardiac output-induced changes in blood pressure and vascular pulse can be simulated using cultured vascular endothelial cells, so that the stretch system can be used in the analysis and elucidation of cell morphology, intracellular signaling mechanisms, and vasoactive substance-releasing mechanisms in response to stress. The stretch system can be applied to various types of cells, such as myocardial, fibroblast, and chondrocyte cells. A stretch system mounted on a microscope capable of measuring intracellular calcium dynamics and a stretch system for biochemical analysis are also available in the company s line up. In addition, there are a biaxial system, in which the stretch system is independently stretched along the X-Y axes, and a stretch system equipped with a CO2 incubator. It is feasible to stretch three-dimensional cultured cells and tissues on the system. The system should be a promising tool in the future regenerative medicine.
MICROSCALE SPERM SORTER EMPLOYING MICROFLUIDICS
Today, 1 in 10 couples is infertile. Infertility therapy is a serious social issue in every country. One of the keys to successful infertility therapy is the harvesting of sperm with good motility. Unlike conventional methods, the sperm sorter which makes use of the microfiuidics developed by Prof. Shuichi Takayama and Prof. Gary Smith at the University of Michigan, allows sperm with good motility to be easily separated in a few minutes. In collaboration with Nagoya University, Strex Inc. conducted clinical studies on the sperm sorter for in vitro fertilization (IVH), with great success. A single-chip fertilization system is currently being developed. The advantages of single-chip innovations will be fully exploited, and excellent results can also be expected for risk management in the clinical setting. The sperm sorter is also being developed for artificial insemination (AIH) which could be useful in general gynecology.
Osaka, Hokkaido and Beyond
Osaka's biotech prowess draws plenty of collaborations with other biotech clusters, and the northern island of Hokkaido is one of the most productive. It has been strengthening ties with Osaka-based universities and companies through joint research, capital alliances and sponsorships for college lectures.
But few people outside the region may notice that the remote, spacious island, which resembles Denmark in economic size and activities, is quietly trying to make itself a massive research and business centre for biotechnology. Beset by the sluggish economy that relies on agriculture and small businesses, Hokkaido is betting on biotech as a pillar of the future growth engine.
In fact, the biotech industry in Hokkaido has been growing steadily. The number of biotech companies totaled 75 in 2004, up from 34 in 1999. “Unlike Osaka, which is strong in drug development, Hokkaido takes advantage of ample natural resources,” says Ikkei Matsuda, president of Hokkaido Venture Capital, which invests in a dozen biotech companies in Hokkaido, Osaka and the U.S. Many of Hokkaido's biotech firms focus on nutraceuticals and food products.
For example, industry experts say Amino Up Chemical, which mainly produces a nutritional supplement made from mycelia of shiitake mushroom, is fiourishing. The compound, called Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC), can activate immunocytes, alleviating side-effects of anticancer drugs and helping to cure infectious diseases like hepatitis. “We want to entrench the concept of complementary and alternative medicine,” says president Kenichi Kosuna.
The 50-employee company's success lies largely in solid management and cutting-edge technology to culture mycelia. More notably, thorough clinical research at more than 60 universities and hospitals around the globe has established its credibility. So, doctors are increasingly using AHCC products, which are now selling in 15 countries. Also, Amino Up has recently developed a novel technology to extract polyphenol from plants and break polymers into smaller particles, which can boost polyphenol's systemic absorption and its antioxidant effect.
Primary Cell, a university start-up armed with nine employees, is also looking to explore new business areas. The company produces custom-made primary culture cells from bone, liver and other organs of lab animals for use in screening drug candidates. Last year, it developed the world's first system to culture primary cells of visceral adipocyte. President Toshio Taira says there is great demand for means of screening drug candidates for diabetes and other metabolic syndromes. The company is also developing primary culture cells of gastrointestinal tracts, as demand is rising from food makers to examine specifically how nutrition is absorbed or discharged.
Meanwhile, the prestigious Hokkaido University, together with government and industry, is trying to establish a large research and business park around its campus. The area houses various state-of-the-art facilities including the Frontier Research Center for Post-Genomic Science and Technology, whose mainstream research areas include glycol and lipid engineering.
The university is eager to improve efficiency. It has recently established an organization called Creative Research Initiative “Sousei” to break down barriers among faculties, support technology transfer from academic to industry and encourage human interaction. Already, a few large manufacturers have set up labs there, but the university hopes its renewed efforts will lure more private investment. “We believe companies can easily envisage a business model from science to the market by joining hands with Hokkaido University,” says Hiroshi Takahashi, director of Sousei.
Contact: Takashi Fujita, International Account Manager, Amino Up Chemical,
High Tech Hill Shin-ei, 363-32 Shin-ei, Kiyota, Sapporo, 004-0839 Japan
(81)11-889-2555 au_office@aminoup.co.jp
Related links
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GREATER OSAKA BEGINS A NEW CENTURY OF BIOSCIENCE
Medical Center for Translational Research
Osaka Univ. 21st century COE program
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BIOMEDICAL INNOVATION (NIBIO)
Saito Life Science Park Promotion Council