Medtech Connect brings together the most innovative startups, visionary medtech investors and largest medical technology providers. The event is a platform designed to stimulate growth and explore how businesses can take the leap to the next generation of highly impactful clinical products and services.
Medtech Connect Osaka 2022 will bring together Japan’s thriving medtech ecosystem to discuss the future of the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industry. In specific we will seek to discuss the challenges in commercialising the newest therapeutics: from cell and gene therapies to regenerative medicine and mRNA. Join us as we explore the future of advanced therapy manufacturing practices, drug delivery, and n of 1 therapies.
The challenges to realising next generation therapeutics
The race to bring the promise of advanced therapies to Japanese patients.
Date | 10 February 2022
Time | 3:00pm JST/ 2:00pm SGT/ 6:00am GMT
Duration | 2 hours 30 mins
Location | Held online (free)
This event will be broadcast in Japanese and English
Agenda
Opening remarks | Prof. Kondo-san, Executive Director and Secretary General, OCCI
Keynote | Matthew Allen, Global Head of Medtech, Cambridge Consultants
Keynote | Yoichi Honma, Executive Officer & Director of Regenerative Medicine Research Planning Dept., Rohto Pharmaceuticals
Lecture | Synthetic Biology - Current status and future developments | Akihiko Kondo, Director of Bacchus bioinnovation and Vice president of Kobe University
Japanese Medtech Ecosystem | Lei Liu, Ph.D., Innovation Partnerships & i2.JP Director, AstraZenecaKK
All great innovation networks must have a combination of fearless innovators, visionary investors, and experienced industry players. This session will give an overview of Japan’s medtech innovation ecosystem.
Start-up Spotlight
Moderator | Lei Liu, Ph.D., Innovation Partnerships & i2.JP Director, AstraZenecaKK
The challenge to enable next generation therapeutics to reach more patients knows no boundaries. Therefore, Medtech Connect is pleased to host innovators from both within and without Japan to showcase their breakthrough innovations. This year we will highlight 4 companies that are working in the field of next generation therapeutics. To meet the brief the innovation must include a therapeutic breakthrough or an innovation that helps develop or commercialize next generation therapies.
- Joshua Yang, Co-Founder and CEO, Glyphic
- Ben Yellen, CEO, Celldom
- Taku Nakahara, CEO, Metagen Therapeutics
- Shin Hatou, CEO, Celliusion
Special Remark | Buzz Palmer, CEO, The Actuator
The Actuator from Australia will make a special announcement about their future in the Japanese ecosystem.
Panel | Cell & Gene | Advanced Manufacturing
Cell and gene therapies are undeniably a big part of the future of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. The first commercial products are showing astounding clinical benefits to patients but their production is still very challenging to the industry. Join us as we discuss the challenges and the strategies around bringing cell and gene therapies to more patients in APAC.
Speakers:
Moderator – Yan Lin Lye, Head of Medtech APAC, Cambridge Consultants
- Michael Paumen, Head of Japan, Pacific Biosciences
- Paulo Garcia, CEO, Kytopen
- Akihiko Kondo, Director of Bacchus Bioinnovation & Vice president of Kobe University
- Jeffrey Moore, President MP Healthcare Venture Management Inc.
More speakers to be announced soon
Closing remarks | Simon Karger, Commercial Director Medtech, Cambridge Consultants
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Speaker information
Matthew Allen | Global Head of Medtech, Cambridge Consultants
After many years leading Cambridge Consultants’ pharma and biotech facing business, Matthew now oversees CC’s global medical technology business- encompassing the pharma & biotech, medical devices, diagnostics and digital health business division. His role involves strategic responsibility of CC’s commercial activity as well as direct oversight of some of our most complex development projects, with a specific interest in inhalation and injection products.
Yoichi Honma | Executive Officer & Director of Regenerative Medicine Research Planning Dept., Rohto Pharmaceuticals
Honma-sama joined Rohto Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in 1992., where he has been engaged in research and development of diagnostic reagents and ophthalmic reagents, as well as functional cosmetics and other skin care products. Since 2020, he has been in charge of the commercialization of regenerative medicine, a new business area, and has been conducting research and development of cell-based products. His areas of expertise include ophthalmology and dermatology.
Akihiko Kondo | Executive Director and Secretary General, OCCI
Akihiko Kondo received his Ph.D. from Kyoto University in Chemical Engineering (1988). He became a full professor of Kobe University in 2003 and a team leader of the cell factory research team at RIKEN in 2012. He was appointed as a dean of Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation at Kobe University in 2016, member of Science Council Japan in 2017, deputy director of RIKEN CSRS in 2020 and vice president of Kobe University in 2021. A. Kondo has developed various platform technologies such as cell surface display systems, metabolic pathway design tools, metabolic analysis technologies, genome editing and long chain DNA synthesis technologies. He also has applied these platform technologies for construction of various microbial cell factories. He is the scientific founder of several companies including BioPalette (genome editing), Synprogen (genome synthesis), AlgaeNexus (microalgae) and Bacchus Bio innovation (Biofoundry). He has published more than 720 peer reviewed international papers.
Lei Liu, Ph.D | Innovation Partnerships & i2.JP Director, AstraZeneca KK
Joined current position in 2020 with experience as R&D engineer in a global medical device company, think-tank/consulting firm, star-ups and life insurance company. In charge of promoting open innovation of AZ Japan and leading community management of open innovation network i2.JP. Initiates collaborative projects among partners including academia, public-private sectors and start-ups, with purpose to realize "patient-centricity”.
Yan Lin Lye | Head of Medtech APAC, Cambridge Consultants
Yan Lin has spent over 10 years working in and with start ups across the world to help commercialise their cutting edge medical technology. In particular, she has insights into the life science and diagnostic industry. She currently leads Cambridge Consultants’ medtech commercial activity in APAC.
Joshua Yang | Co-Founder and CEO, Glyphic
Although decoding the human genome through the invention of DNA sequencing has ushered in a new era of biomedical sciences, this blueprint is not enough. We are defined by more than our genes: to understand the human body, we must understand the proteins that actually perform our day-to-day functions--and malfunctions. Glyphic Biotechnologies is decoding the human proteome through full coverage, de novo protein sequencing at single molecule resolutions, advancing beyond the decades old technologies based on mass spectrometry and ELISAs. This platform will enable the development of novel therapeutics and diagnostics and, ultimately, a deeper understanding of human biology.
Ben Yellen | Celdom CEO
Celldom is a San Francisco Bay area company commercializing a platform for phenotyping and genotyping single cells. In the genotyping space, we are developing an instrument-free platform for transcriptional profiling of 100,000+ single cells in a high density microwell array. In the phenotyping space, we are developing a high content imager for measuring the growth rates and functional behavior of 100,000+ single cell clones in a single experiment, with additional capability for cell retrieval. We are also developing approaches that will combine phenotypic and genomic measurements of single cells to enable unprecedented insights in the functional and molecular states of single cells in a high-density format.
Taku Nakahara | CEO, Metagen Therapeutics
Taku is a bioinformatician by training. He has launched a biotech startup with diagnostics technology originated from Hokkaido University as a co-founder and the Director of Bioinformatics from 2009-2014 in New Jersey, USA. Then he moved back to Japan and worked for a large FMCG enterprise and venture capitals in Japan and the USA.
In 2020, Taku founded Metagen Therapeutics (MGTx) as a CEO. MGTx leverages microbiome innovation seeds from academia and industries in Japan for developing microbiome solutions in medical and therapeutic areas. The company is headquartered in Tsuruoka, Yamagata, and has a Tokyo office in Cambridge Innovation Center Tokyo. Taku resides in Sapporo, Hokkaido. He serves as a Bio-business advisor for Sapporo City for supporting local biotech innovation ecosystem.
Shin Hatou | CEO, Celliusion
Shin Hatou has performed corneal transplantation over a decade after graduating Keio University School of Medicine. He became an assistant professor later promoting to a lecturer in Keio university, where he has researched on corneal endothelial regenerative therapy. In 2015, he founded Cellusion Inc. and has become the CEO.
Buzz Palmer | CEO, The Actuator
Dr Buzz Palmer co-founded the MedTech Actuator –in 2018 and is strongly involved in a number of venture capital and technology/product development initiatives. A regular advisor to governments at all levels and a Professor of Entrepreneurship at Monash University Business School, Buzz is passionate about catalysing innovation and supporting the founders who drive it.
Dr Michael Paumen | Head of Japan Pacific Biosciences
Dr Michael Paumen, a geneticist and molecular biologist by training with a track record of successful market introductions and commercialization in genomics, joined Pacific Biosciences as Head of Japan in April 2021 to build the commercial company’s presence in Japan. Before joining Pacific Biosciences Michael held numerous senior positions including: VP of Genomic Services at Konica Minolta Precision Medicine, CEO of Clearbridge BioMedics (now Biolidics Ltd.), Sr. Director of Medical Sciences at Life Technologies (now Thermo Fisher Scientific) to name a few. Michael has been a resident of Japan and Singapore for over 20 years. He obtained his Ph.D. from Johannes-Gutenberg University, in Germany. His academic activities include work on Programmed Cell Death at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Kyoto University, Faculty of Medicine, Japan.
Paulo Garcia, Ph.D | CEO, Kytopen
Dr. Garcia co-invented the Flowfect® technology while he was a Research Scientist in the Mechanical Engineering department at MIT to realize high-throughput, automated, and scalable cell engineering. A scientist by training and entrepreneur by DNA, there is nothing that motivates him more than knowing that ongoing efforts will help patients suffering from devastating diseases worldwide. At Kytopen we exist to accelerate the translation of living medicines from the bench to the clinic and ultimate impact patient’s lives. Dr. Garcia earned his Ph.D. from the Virginia Tech – Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences in 2010.
Jeffrey Moore | President MP Healthcare Venture Management Inc.
Dr. Jeff Moore joined MPH in 2008 with notable professional experience as a scientist, businessman, and investor. Dr. Moore specializes in biochemistry, infectious disease and immunology, and works closely with our early stage portfolio companies. Current Companies: F-star, Forge, QurAlis
Education - BSc in Biology (University of New Brunswick/University College London), DPhil in Pathology (University of Oxford), Postdoc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Harvard Medical School), MBA (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Class 10 Kauffman Fellow
Professional Experience - Research Corporation Technologies, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Scriptgen
Simon Karger | Commercial Director Medtech, Cambridge Consultants
Simon has around 20 plus years of experience in technology and product development consulting with a strong focus on the medical devices sector covering advanced surgical devices, robotics, implanted systems, ophthalmic tools and design for emerging markets. Simon has extensive experience of managing, overseeing and directing complex technical development projects of all sizes for global clients. He also has a long track record of working with our client's strategic, marketing and business development teams to combine commercial and technical insight to, for example, support M&A, technology landscaping and front-end innovation
