The 4th Academia Clinical Development Seminar was held online on December 19, 2025. In this seminar, we welcomed Professor Takeshi Machino from the Tsukuba Clinical Research & Development Organization (T-CReDO). Professor Machino delivered a lecture titled “Advancing the Development of Innovative Medical Technologies.”

At the beginning, he stated about the importance of investing in the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic methods within the “education, research, and clinical care” roles that university hospitals fulfill. In particular, he explained that in “translational research,” which advances discoveries from basic research to clinical application, a lack of funding is a major issue, leveraging startups is essential.

Globally, universities and university‑based startups in the United States account for roughly 60% of new drug creation, driving medical innovation. In contrast, Japan still has many drug candidates that never reach the development stage, highlighting the need to strengthen mechanisms that connect academia‑originated technologies to real‑world implementation.

Next, he introduced the “Research Studio,” a program he launched in 2018.
The Research Studio is a hands-on acceleration program designed to guide academic research seeds toward practical implementation.

The program’s key features were outlined:

• Mentoring by diverse experts

More than 50 mentors—including investors, industry professionals, physicians, and experts from medical device and pharmaceutical companies—participate in the program, providing tailored feedback to each team based on their specific challenges.

• A structured four-step framework

1. Information sessions and consultations
2. Development plan formulation (including creation of the Target Product Profile, TPP)
3. Business plan development
4. Support for global expansion (such as training at UCSD)

• University collaboration

Multiple universities, including The University of Osaka, participate in the program, enabling the cultivation of support personnel and the consolidation of resources across institutions.

To date, the program has supported 44 teams, resulting in the establishment of 24 startups and more than 13 billion yen in total fundraising—demonstrating steady and significant achievements.

In addition, he discussed the importance of overseas expansion and introduced his own project: the development of an intramyocardial cell‑delivery catheter, which aims to advance regenerative therapy for heart disease.

After the lecture, we welcomed Dr. Hiroyuki Saito from the Graduate School of Medicine at The University of Osaka as a guest for the Q&A session.
When asked about the key to successful fundraising, Prof. Machino emphasized that the common factor for successful is effective team building.

The next Academia Clinical Development Seminar is scheduled for January 30 with Professor Keiko Fukuta from the WHO as our invited speaker. We look forward to your participation.