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Greetings

Program Director　 KUREBAYASHI Yoichi (D.V.M., Ph.D.)

Life science research in Japan has produced numerous seeds for innovative drugs and medical technologies through original ideas and the discovery of novel therapeutic targets rooted in basic research. In recent years, some of these seeds have been used in practical applications, culminating in significant achievements that have contributed to medical innovations. However, many challenges remain in bridging the gap between research and commercialization. These challenges include limited development capacity, insufficient funding, shortage of project management expertise, weak industry collaboration, and other related issues.

To address these challenges, RIKEN launched the Program for Drug Discovery and Medical Technology Platforms (DMP) in 2010. DMP is a professional initiative dedicated to advancing drug discovery and medical technology development. Leveraging the management team’s deep industrial experience and working closely with technology platform units established within RIKEN, DMP integrates traditional research and development processes with cutting-edge science, including artificial intelligence (AI) and laboratory automation.

Focusing on diseases with unmet medical needs, such as pediatric cancers, rare diseases, and dementia, we aim to deliver innovative healthcare solutions and help build a sustainable society in which everyone has access to safe and reliable medical care.

Thank you for your continuous support and collaboration.

More insight about each category is detailed below:

  1. Create new modalities and encourage paradigm shifts.

    1. Creation of versatile modalities such as protein medicines, antibody drugs, nucleic acid medicines, cell and regenerative medicine, and gene therapy
    2. Creation of novel new modalities that encourage a paradigm shift in specific disease areas, such as adjuvant vector cell (aAVC) technology
    3. Creation of pathophysiological specific modality technologies such as cell regeneration

  2. Find new drug discovery targets and answer unmet needs.

    1. Focus on diseases that unmet needs are clear.
      Priority will be given to diseases that can make use of the strengths of RIKEN drug discovery, such as rare diseases, infectious diseases, CNS diseases, immune diseases, etc.
    2. It is positioned as a medium- to long-term theme centering on infectious disease, especially viral diseases.
      We will make use of the experience of the new Corona Special Project, which we challenged by making full use of RIKEN's modalities such as small molecule medicines, antibody drugs, and aAVC technology.
    3. We will build a pipeline using new modalities that are created by RIKEN, such as aAVC technology, and promote a paradigm shift in specific disease areas.

  3. Explore the direction of "target × modality" evolution.

    In the past, the evolution of modality has been a major driving force in creating the evolution of drug discovery. We will challenge this approach to promote the evolution of "target × modality" by making full use of riken's advanced technology related to life sciences. Specifically, we will start with the following items and gradually challenge the direction of new evolution.

    1. Conversion of protein and antibody drugs to small molecules
      A small percentage of cytokine signals have been shown to be substituted with small molecules, and this fact finds universal law and aims for the next generation of drug discovery.

RIKEN is full of science and technology that produces two elements of "target" and "modality", and I am confident that if we release this power toward drug discovery with our own point of focus, we can realize further evolution of drug discovery on our own.

Program Overview

Program Overview
name RIKEN TRIP Headquarters
Program for Drug Discovery and Medical Technology Platforms
inauguration April 1, 2010
Program Director KUREBAYASHI Yoichi
purpose We will promote seeds related to "target × modality" born from basic research as a theme or project for drug discovery and medical technology in order to optimize drug discovery processes in pharmaceutical companies and technologies that are actually utilized in the medical field. Specifically, we aim to discover excellent seeds cultivated in basic research, optimize them using drug discovery infrastructure units and external networks installed at RIKEN centers, etc., and ultimately alliance with companies and medical institutions.

For Partnering
and Aliance

Strategic Alliance Office

The Strategic Alliance 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.

Translational Research
Office

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.

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