The final objective of this program is to transfer the advancement of drug discovery and medical technologies to companies or medical institutions. We are exploring the exceptional seeds of drug discovery and medical technology nurtured in basic research at RIKEN or collaborating universities and research institutes. We are conducting seed identification and lead optimization utilizing drug discovery platforms at RIKEN and other external platform networks. We will select candidate compounds or antibodies for development and prepare for clinical development. We also provide support for the clinical development of cell therapy and regenerative medicine projects.
We support forming an alliance of themes and projects on collaborative research or initiating licensing with companies or medical institutions.
We are seeking partners for drug discovery and medical technology themes and projects at all stages of research and development. The business development office handles alliances for collaboration with companies, universities, and external research institutes. It is also involved in licensing intellectual property rights to companies in collaboration with RIKEN Innovation.
If you are interested in the drug discovery themes and projects (pipeline table), we will first introduce to you the non-confidential information and subsequently disclose additional information upon the conclusion of a confidentiality agreement. The types of alliances include a licensing agreement for intellectual property rights and/or a joint research and development agreement to promote research and development together with the partner companies. In addition, it is also possible to consider other types of alliances in accordance with the requests of corporations.
On September 5, 2019, RIKEN Innovation was established as a company wholly owned by RIKEN under a
new law to promote science, technology, and innovation. RIKEN Innovation cooperates and
collaborates closely with RIKEN, having the mission of rapidly returning research results as
value to society and contributing to Japanese innovation.
Please refer to RIKEN Innovation
web site for details.
We have developed a new cancer immunotherapy platform that induces innate and adaptive immunity. An investigator-initiated clinical trial for leukemia is currently underway. The licensing agreement has been executed with Astellas Pharma for specific antigens in oncology. Project Leader: Shinichiro Fujii
We developed a method by utilizing iPS cell technology to amplify and induce NKT cells, which are T lymphocytes with strong antitumor activity. In 2020, ans investigator-initiated clinical trial targeting head and neck cancer was initiated at Chiba University. Project Leader: Haruhiko Koseki
For hereditary diseases in which the photoreceptor cells of the retina degenerate, we aimed to develop a treatment method that regenerates retinal function by transplanting iPS cell-derived retinal tissue. Clinical research was initiated in 2020 at the Kobe City Eye Center Hospital. Project Leader: Michiko Mandai
The business development office handles alliances for collaboration with companies, universities, and external research institutes. It is also involved in licensing intellectual property rights to companies in collaboration with RIKEN Innovation.
Mission of Translational Research Office (TRO), the competent team which consists of number of experts of translational research (TR) from industry, academic TR institutes, regulatory organizations, is to support projects establishing clinical development plan.
