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

Hiroyuki Hasegawa

Director of Life Science, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd.

He graduated with a master’s degree from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University. In 1994, he joined Daiichi Seiyaku Company (current Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited) and was in charge of the areas of infectious diseases and cancers in the Department of Post-marketing Surveillance. In 2004, he joined UFJ Capital Co., Ltd. (current Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd.), where he served as an analyst and capitalist. From 2013, he made an attempt to use open innovation for the Development of Emerging Technologies (OiDE) Fund for the purpose of nurturing outcomes from academia-launched research to become the fundamental technology for drug discovery in collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited(liquidated in 2023).Since the first fund in 2017, we have been promoting investment activities using a total of 50 billion yen, including the "Mitsubishi UFJ Life Science Fund No. 4" (20 billion yen).Currently, he holds the position of outside director at Kamuipharma, GAIA Biomedicine, and Luxonus Co. Ltd., as well as serving as a fellow for collaboration between industry and academia at Kyoto University Medical Science and Business Liaison Organization.

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.

Atsushi Usami

The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners Co., Ltd. (UTEC)
Partner and Board Director

He holds a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Tokyo and is a licensed pharmacist. Prior to joining UTEC in October 2013, he worked as a consultant at Mitsubishi Research Institute. Currently serving as a Partner and Board Director, he oversees venture investments and provides management support primarily in the life sciences sector for seed and early-stage startups. He has played a key role in investments in companies such as OriCiro Genomics, Inc. (acquired by Moderna, Inc.) and Repertoire Genesis, Inc. (acquired by Eurofins Scientific SE). In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Encouragement Award for Venture Capitalists at the 23rd Japan Venture Awards in 2023.

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.

Takeshi komatani

Takeshi S Komatani is currently principal litigation certified patent attorney in the field of chemical/pharma and bio/life sciences at a patent law firm, and has a number of counsels, including in academia, start-ups and big pharma internationally. Takeshi received his PhD from the University of Tokyo, Japan, received his LLB and LLM (global legal practice) from Keio University, and is currently a visiting professor at Kobe University, teaching IP strategy in entrepreneurship and Doshisha University (Kyoto). He has completed CEIPI Summer School on IP (University of Strasbourg), France. He is also qualified as a pharmacist with a certificate of Kampo and natural medicines specialist qualification. He was a researcher at F Hoffmann-La Roche in Basle, Switzerland. He has completed the EU-recognised PharmaTrain course at Osaka University, and is qualified as a board-certified member of the Japanese Association of Pharmaceutical Medicine. He is a member of the AIPPI and vice chair of TRIPS SC and a member of IP-GRTK SC and Pharma SC, and a member of the editorial board of the Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst (UK). He is also a member of JPAA, APAA, IPAJ, PSA, JPA, CSAIP and AAAS. He has lectured in academia, including at Japanese and German universities and WIPO Academy, and contributed to a number of articles.