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[Special Feature: 10th Anniversary of the Faculty of Pharmacy] Development of the Center for Drug Discovery Research

Publish: October 05, 2018

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  • Hidemi Misawa

    Faculty of Pharmacy Director of the Center for Drug Discovery Research, Professor of the Division of Pharmacology

    Hidemi Misawa

    Faculty of Pharmacy Director of the Center for Drug Discovery Research, Professor of the Division of Pharmacology

The purpose of the Center for Drug Discovery Research is to contribute to society through research results and to foster human resources who lead drug discovery. To this end, the Center for Drug Discovery Research was established in 2014, and the "Center for Drug Discovery Research Laboratory" was set up on campus as a base of operations, forming a network hub for conducting cutting-edge research and scientific planning of research strategies. These efforts have yielded results such as patent applications and joint research with companies, and since fiscal 2017, we have been working to further strengthen the management system by introducing a project-based system. In each project, a faculty member from the Faculty of Pharmacy serves as the leader, building consortiums for specific advanced drug discovery research and advanced technology development with companies, national research institutions, and researchers from both within ´ºÓêÖ±²¥app and outside the Juku. To date, the following three projects have started their activities.

Drug Discovery Metabolome Research Project

Project Leader: Professor Makoto Arita. Partner Companies, etc.: Shimadzu Corporation, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Nitto Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., Suntory Wellness Ltd., etc.

We will establish a research environment for drug discovery innovation equipped with state-of-the-art mass spectrometry technology. Within this environment, we will search for and evaluate drug discovery seeds, develop new technologies, and work on human resource development based on the vision of a "Faculty of Pharmacy that produces researchers who will lead the next generation." In addition, we will utilize this as a platform for joint research with external academic institutions and contribute to the promotion of fundamental drug discovery research in Japan.

Advanced Antibody Immunology Research Project

Project Leader: Professor Koji Hase. Partner Companies, etc.: Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., etc.

The purpose is to respond to unmet medical needs for rare intractable diseases and chronic inflammatory diseases, and to contribute to the realization of a healthy and long-lived society. We will conduct research and development of next-generation antibody drugs through industry-academia collaboration for disease therapeutic target molecules cultivated in the Faculty of Pharmacy and other campuses, while also developing technology for new antibody drugs and aiming to foster outstanding human resources in the field of drug discovery.

Precision Medicine Molecular Diagnostics Project

Project Leader: Professor Hideko Kanazawa. Partner Companies, etc.: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, etc.

Utilizing the analytical chemistry techniques of the Faculty of Pharmacy, we will build an advanced research platform for molecular diagnostic systems. In addition, based on knowledge regarding pharmaceuticals, we will develop support technologies to optimize the treatment policy decision-making process, such as from molecular diagnosis to medication. Through these efforts, we will foster excellent human resources who contribute to next-generation genomic medicine.

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.