Institute for International Research

Stellar Keynote Line-Up

Hear from the pioneering experts in drug discovery and development of innovative therapeutics! This year's impressive keynote presenters will discuss a variety of topics, including the power of innovation, advances in stem cell biology and translational research.

Keynote Chairperson and Head of Conference Advisory Board:
Osamu Sato, Ph.D., Director, Head of Medical Writing Group, Clinical Data & Biostatistics Dept, R&D Division, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Japan

Dr. Osamu Sato is currently a Director, Head of Medical Writing Group, Clinical Data and Biostatistics Department, R&D Division, Daiichi-Sankyo Co., Ltd. At the position he is responsible for preparation of the reports of clinical trials, to compile clinical and parts of non-clinical information into NDA dossier and so on. Also, as an expert in the field, he is leading PGx in Daiichi-Sankyo.

Outside of the company, he is a Visiting Professor of Kobe University School of Medicine and Kurume University School of Medicine and also he is one of the opinion leaders of Japanese pharmaceutical industry on new technology of drug discovery such as genomics, proteomics, informatics and so on.

Before he joined Daiichi-Sankyo (former Daiichi) he was a research scientist in the field of cell biology and molecular biology for over 10 years as a lecturer of Dokkyo University School of Medicine, a research fellow of Tokyo University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and so on and He took a Ph.D. degree in Tokyo University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Keynote Presenters Include:

Kiyoshi Kurokawa, M.D. Ph.D., Chairman, Health Policy Institute, Japan:
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, referred to by Science Magazine, as an architect of the "InnovationMantra" in Japan, will talk about the power of innovation in science and technology as a driver of growth in pharmaceutical R&D.
View the Science Magazine article - "Japan Picks Up the 'Innovation' Mantra".

Ken-ichi Arai, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo; Founding President, Asia-Pacific IMBN; and President & CEO, SBI Biotech Co., Ltd./Gingko Biomedical Research Institute, Japan:
Dr. Ken-ichi Arai is one of Japan's pioneering scientists and entrepreneurs. His presentation will discuss efforts to develop therapeutic products for the Immune system based on a platform of translational research and a genomic approach to cell therapy.

Shinya Yamanaka, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Stem Cell Biology, Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Japan:
Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, also known as the Japanese scientist who led one of the two teams that recently announced they had turned human skin cells into the equivalent of embryonic stem cells, will discuss the latest advances in stem cell biology and how it will affect the future of drug discovery and toxicology.
View Dr. Yamanaka's profile from The New York Times

Ryoichi Inoue, MBA, Representative, Pharma Marketing Consultant
Former Director of Marketing at Roche Japan with 25 years of working experience in pharmaceutical marketing. Mr. Inoue is a well-known speaker who promotes innovation in the Japanese pharmaceutical industry. He will discuss the rapid changes of global/local pharmaceutical market and how traditional pharmaceutical R&D has to be reformed to adapt these changes.