“Kyoto University Life Science Showcase @ UCSD 2020” was held at UCSD in San Diego, USA on February 28, presented by Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University Research Center San Diego (KURC-SD), Kyoto University Research Administration Office (KURA), and Kyoto University Hospital Institute for Advancement of Clinical and Translational Science (iACT). This event was held as part of KURC-SD, which was established last year as part of the Kyoto University On-site Laboratory, to promote and support the overseas business development of medical and life sciences innovations from Kyoto University.

A total of 98 people, including institutional and private investors, pharmaceutical companies and UCSD, attended the showcase. As the opening keynote speech, Dr. Masatoshi Hagiwara, a professor of Graduate School of Medicine gave an overview of medical research at Kyoto University, an explanation of the KURC-SD, and an explanation of the support for entrepreneurship at Kyoto University. Afterwards, five teams of start-up companies from Kyoto University took the stage and presented their advanced technology development and business plans (the program is as follows). Each presentation was followed by many questions from the five commentators and the floor, indicating the high level of interest in the seeds and technologies being developed by each team in the fields of pharmaceuticals, regenerative medicine and medical devices.

The showcase was followed by a reception where interested participants gathered to exchange information, network and discuss future collaborations. Some of the teams are in the process of discussing their next actions, such as providing additional information and meeting with investors and pharmaceutical companies to discuss funding and potential partnerships after they return Japan.

This event is expected to accelerate the overseas development of advanced technologies discovered at Kyoto University, and KURC-SD is expected to become a hub for this purpose. We are planning to hold another showcase next year, and we will continue to develop these efforts so that we can contribute to the social implementation of Kyoto University’s research results.

Kyoto University Life Science Showcase at UCSD 2020>
Date: Friday, February 28, 2020, 9:00-17:00
Place: Roth Auditorium at Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine
(2880 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive, La Jolla CA 92037, USA)

【Program】
9:00　Doors open
9:30　Opening Keynote Speech (Prof. Hagiwara, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine)
9:50　Showcase 1: “iPSC-based drug discovery for respiratory diseases” by Dr. Yamamoto, Assistant Professor, Department of Drug Discovery for Lung Disease, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
10:30　Showcase 2: “Development of curcumin monoglucuronide (CMG) as an anticancer drug” by Mr. Hashimoto, President of Therabiopharma, Inc.
11:20　Showcase 3: “Development of cell therapy products using novel human neural stem cells (OligoGenie)” by Mr. Kido, President of Oligogen
13:00　Showcase 4: “World-first epileptic seizure prediction system” by Mr. Hayashi, President of Quadlytics
13:40　Showcase 5: “Innovative therapeutic drug development for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)” by Mr. Kuroishi, President, KinoPharm
14:30　Reception and Networking
16:30　Closing of the meeting

Sponsored by Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University Research Center San Diego (KURC-SD), Kyoto University Research Administration Office (KURA), and Kyoto University Hospital Institute for Advancement of Clinical and Translational Science (iACT).
Co-sponsored by Life Science Innovation Network Japan (LINK-J)
Supported by Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Kobe (FBRI), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan Forum for Innovation and Technology (JFIT) at UCSD, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Science and Innovation for the Next Generation (SING), KYOTO-SPARK