In recent years, the importance of biopharmaceuticals as a growth driver for the life science industry has increased rapidly, and fierce competition is taking place around the world to develop gene and cell therapy drugs and antibody drugs.
After graduating Kobe University School of Medicine and joining the department of Urology, I went to study abroad at the University of Virginia in the late 1990s, the dawn of gene therapy, which was a turning point in my life. There I engaged in preclinical development of cancer gene therapy drugs using adenovirus vectors, which were cutting-edge at the time. It made me decide to be involved in research and development of biopharmaceuticals for the rest of my life.
In this clinical study, there was one case in which gene therapy was remarkably effective and I hypothesized that the efficacy due to tumor immunity. I have come to recognize the need for antitumor agents inducing the tumor immunity. In the other hand, since this gene therapy drug was not invented by myself, I set the goal of my research activities to bring the novel biopharmaceuticals I invented to practical use in the future.
Currently, cancer immunotherapy is rapidly spreading due to the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Our laboratory is also proceeding with the clinical development of an oral cancer vaccine using Bifidobacterium as a delivery vector for antigenic proteins. Combining this oral cancer vaccine with immune checkpoint inhibitors is expected to significantly improve the response rate of cancer immunotherapy. We have also established a biotech startup from Kobe University to this this oral cancer vaccine to patients as soon as possible.
Our laboratory conducts research activities with the aim of creating innovative biopharmaceuticals by genetically modifying microorganisms such as adenoviruses and Bifidobacterium. We are looking forward to hearing from motivated students who are interested in this field and want to immerse themselves in research activities together.