A comprehensive portal site for Medical Innovation Support Office (MEDISO).Medical Innovation Support Office

Takayuki Hirose

Patent attorney, Hirose International Patent Firm

He graduated with a master’s degree from the Graduate School, University of Tokyo. Patent attorney. After working in the intellectual property department in a major company, he was involved in lawsuit-, adviser- and application-relating services at a lawyer's office, followed by establishing his own international patent attorney's office in 2017. He offers intellectual property strategies in cooperation with companies as an adviser for multiple companies, including the Japanese Organization for Medical Device Development, Inc., (JOMDD) and Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories, Ltd. Furthermore, he applies for patent rights and trademarks in a wide variety of areas. He is involved in intellectual property-related services that include medical devices and pharmaceutical products. When he applies for a patent in foreign countries, he offers application strategies by placing the most importance on client’s profit, for example, to give advice to receive a subsidy or to select a foreign agent at a reasonable price depending on the company’s size.

Yasuo Sasaki

He graduated with a doctoral degree in science from the Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University. He was involved in the research and development of pharmaceutical products as an employee of Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation. He was mainly in charge of preclinical studies and regulatory affairs. From 2013, he provided support for research and development by academia, drug discovery venture companies, and small and medium enterprises centering on the eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Since 2018, he has been providing support services as a freelance advisor or coordinator in the life science field.

Tetsuomi Takano

t2T Healthcare Inc. CEO／Drug R&D Expert Editor-in-Chief

Tetsuomi Takano possesses over 33 years of clinical development experience spanning multiple therapeutic areas. He has accumulated extensive expertise in development strategy, project management, clinical development, regulatory intelligence, and regulatory affairs across Asian countries and regions including Japan and China. He previously held key positions in the clinical development departments at Astellas Pharma, overseeing processes from IND applications for first-in-human studies to NDA approvals in Asian countries and regions. A graduate of Tokyo University of Science's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and a RPh, his career began in 1986 at Astellas, where he worked for 31 years till 2017. After working as Senior Strategy Director, Strategy & Planning at Covance (currently Fortrea) from 2017 to 2023, he founded t2T Healthcare Inc. in October 2023. The company is dedicated to providing clients with efficient and distinctive strategic solutions to facilitate operational implementation, clinical development, and IND/NDA programs across the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, he serves as a member of the PMDA China Expert Committee since 2020 and co-founded the web journal “Drug R&D Expert” in 2021, where he holds the positions of Editor-in-Chief and primary author.

Hidehiro Ando

President & Representative, Andy Pharma Partners Inc.

He graduated from the Department of Veterinary Medical Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tokyo. He joined Tanabe Pharma Corporation (present Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation). After being assigned to the research department of pharmacokinetics, he was involved in partnership-related business of international development department, research and development planning department, etc., including establishment of a joint venture with overseas companies. Subsequently, he worked in the technology transfer department of RIKEN (Institute of Physical and Chemical Research), a regenerative medicine venture, Bayer Yakuhin, a drug discovery venture, and he established a personal office. He has engaged in business development and licensing work for 40 years, and now, based on his experience and networks, he is supporting business development activities, such as licensing agreements and joint research of domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies/ventures. He provides comprehensive support services ranging from looking for appropriate partners, preparing the draft of contract outline, contract negotiation, and alliance management with partners after the partnership agreement. Especially, based on experience of practicing on both sides of venture and pharmaceutical companies, he keeps in mind providing informative advice and proposals for specific action plans.

Nobutaka Tani

Chair Person, Nonprofit Organization Japan Organoid Repository
Independent Consultant (New Business in Life Sciences)

He graduated with a master’s degree from the Department of Synthetic Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo. He led the research and development and the launching new project for medical devices, including blood purification system and brain and heart catheters, at Kaneka Corporation. After that, he was involved in RD of the whole life science, including biopharmaceuticals, as the head of the Life Science RD Center, while investing in medical venture companies such as DDS and establishing joint ventures. He then moved to JSR Corporation and established JSR Life Sciences. He led the launch of the life science project for M&A as the first president since JSR Life Sciences was established. As a part of open innovation, he established a CVC and invested in or acquired venture companies in Japan and overseas, while successively holding the positions of president of the invested companies.