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- 【Hybrid Event】 The 2nd NIKKEI Drug Discovery Ecosystem Summit ～Fostering Innovation to Develop Groundbreaking New Drugs Originating in Japan～
【Hybrid Event】
The 2nd NIKKEI Drug Discovery Ecosystem Summit ～Fostering Innovation to Develop Groundbreaking New Drugs Originating in Japan～
The Nikkei Inc. will host the “The 2nd NIKKEI Drug Discovery Ecosystem Summit” on July 8 (Wed), and July 9(Thurs). This two-day hybrid event—featuring both on-site and live online streaming—will focus on discussions regarding strategic investments aimed at strengthening Japan’s drug discovery industry, industry-government-academia strategies for balancing health promotion and economic growth, and the sustainable support and reforms needed to underpin these efforts.
Building on the diverse discussions held at the last year’s 1st NIKKEI Drug Discovery Ecosystem Summit, this event will bring together representatives from government agencies such as the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED); academia; industry, including pharmaceutical companies and drug discovery startups; and patient groups—spanning government, industry, academia, and the public—to engage in a comprehensive dialogue. Please review the event overview below and register via the offiicial website.
概要OVERVIEW
- Date
- July 8th (Wed) & 9th (Thurs), 2026
【Day1】9:00～19:10
【Day2】9:00～18:25
- Venue
Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, International Hall Pamir, Konron
3-13-1 Takanawa, Minato Ward, Tokyo
- Capacity
【Participate on-site】300 people
【Participate Live Online Streaming】 No limit
- Participation fee
Free
- Organizer
Nikkei Inc.
- Special cooperation
Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
- Supporters
Cabinet Office
- Sponsors
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
AstraZeneca K.K.
Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.
Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Novartis Pharma K.K.
Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd.
PwC Consulting LLC
- Registration deadline
【Participate on-site】July 1st (Wed), 2026
【Participate Live Online Streaming】July 9th (Thurs), 2026 by 18:25
- Contact
NIKKEI Drug Discovery Ecosystem Summit Secretariat
Program
【Day1】Wednesday, July 8th
9:00～9:05 Organizer's Remarks
9:05～9:10 Guest Remarks
9:10～9:20 Keynote Speech
9:20～10:10 Special Session ① Supported by Novartis Pharma K.K.
Yasuhiro Watabe, Life Sciences Industry Lead, Anthropic Japan
Sawori Imura, Senior Director, Product Supply, PGS Japan Lead, Pfizer Japan Inc. / President & Representative Director,Pfizer Global Supply Japan Inc.
Yasushi Katsume, Member of the House of Representative
10:10～10:20 Break time
10:20～11:50 Organizer Panel Session 1
National Healthcare Policy Secretariat, Cabinet Office
Hiroya Hirose, Director, Bio-Industry Division, Commerce and Service Industry Policy Group, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Osamu Okuda, Vice Chairman, Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
Ken-ichiro Hata, D.D.S., Ph.D., Repewsentative Director, Chairperson, Forum for Innovative Regenerative Medicine
Toshio Fujimoto, CEO, iPark Institute Co., Ltd.
Mayu Yoshikawa, Ph.D., ARCH Venture Partners
Kotaro Funato, Health Industries Advisory / Managing Director, PwC Consulting LLC
＜Moderator＞
Kiyoshi Ando, Senior Staff Writer, Nikkei Inc.
11:50～13:00 Break time
13:00～13:50 Special Session ② Supported by AstraZeneca K.K.
13:50～15:20 Organizer Panel Session 2
Takeshi Annaka, Director, Policy Planning Division for Pharmaceutical Industry Promotion and Medical Information Management, Health Policy Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Ataru Igarashi, professor, Graduate School of Business Administration, Keio University
Shinsuke Amano, Representative Director, Japan Federation of Cancer Patient Groups
Masanobu Saito, Head of Value & Access, Novartis Pharma K.K.
＜Moderator＞
Shintaro Sengoku, Professor, School of Environment and Society, Institute of Science Tokyo
15:20～15:30 Break time
15:30～16:20 Special Session ③
16:20～16:40 Keynote Speech ①
16:40～17:30 Special Session ④ Supported by Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd.
17:30～17:40 Break time
17:40～19:10 Organizer Panel Session 3
Hirokazu Shimoda, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
Yoshiki Sawa, CEO President, Organization of Future Medicine / President, Osaka Keisatsu Hospital / Emeritus Professor, Osaka University
Wataru Akahata, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, VLP Therapeutics, Inc./ Founder, CEO, and Chief R&D Officer, VLP Therapeutics Japan, Inc.
Shinichiro Komoto, Partner, Eight Roads Ventures Japan
Hitoshi Iikura, Ph.D., Director, Executive Vice President, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Novartis Pharma
＜Moderator＞
Shintaro Sengoku, Professor, School of Environment and Society, Institute of Science Tokyo
【Day2】Thursday, July 9th
9:00～9:20 Keynote Speech ②
9:20～10:10 Special Session ⑤
10:10～10:20 Break time
10:20～11:50 Organizer Panel Session 4
Kanae Kurata, Director, Life Sciences Division, Research Promotion Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
Tomohiro Anzai, Managing Partner, Fast Track Initiative, Inc.
Akihiko Soyama, Executive Producer and General Ambassador, MEDISO
Yasuhiro Fujiwara, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency
Sunao Manabe, Representative Director, Executive Chairperson, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.
Takashi Kaminagayoshi, Head of Biotherapeutic Process Development Japan, Pharmaceutical Sciences, R&D, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
＜Moderator＞
Kai Nishimura, President/Chief Executive Officer Publisher Nikkei Science Inc.
11:50～13:00 Break time
13:00～13:50 Special Session ⑥ Supported by PwC Consulting LLC
13:50～15:20 Organizer Panel Session 5
Yukako Hinohara, Counsellor, National Healthcare Policy Secretariat, Cabinet Office
Hideaki Hanaki, Project Professor, The Ōmura Satoshi Memorial Institute, Kitasato University /Project Professor, Flotilla Ōmura Memorial Research Organization of Microbial Natural Resources
Ryoji Noritake, Chair, Health and Global Policy Institute
John Paul Pullicino, Vice Chair, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations Japan (EFPIA Japan)
＜Moderator＞
Kiyoshi Ando, Senior Staff Writer, Nikkei Inc.
15:20～15:30 Break time
15:30～16:20 Special Session ⑦ Supported by Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
16:20～17:40
NIKKEI Drug Discovery Startup Pitch
Finalist Presentation
17:40～17:50 Break time
17:50～18:10 Keynote Speech ③
18:10～18:25 NIKKEI Drug Discovery Startup Pitch Award Ceremony
Speaker
John Paul Pullicino
Vice Chair
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations Japan (EFPIA Japan)
President & Representative Director
Novartis Pharma K.K.
Yasuhiro Watabe,
Life Sciences Industry Lead, Anthropic Japan
Sawori Imura
Senior Director, Product Supply, PGS Japan Lead, Pfizer Japan Inc. /
President & Representative Director,Pfizer Global Supply Japan Inc.
Yasushi Katsume
Member of the House of Representative
Hiroya Hirose
Director, Bio-Industry Division, Commerce and Service Industry Policy Group
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Osamu Okuda
Vice Chairman, Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
Ken-ichiro Hata
D.D.S., Ph.D.
Repewsentative Director, Chairperson
Forum for Innovative Regenerative Medicine
Toshio Fujimoto
CEO, iPark Institute Co., Ltd.
Mayu Yoshikawa
Ph.D.
Venture Partner, ARCH Venture Partners
Kotaro Funato
Health Industries Advisory / Managing Director
PwC Consulting LLC
Kiyoshi Ando
Senior Staff Writer, Nikkei Inc.
Takeshi Annaka
Director, Policy Planning Division for Pharmaceutical Industry Promotion and Medical Information Management
Health Policy Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Ataru Igarashi
professor
Graduate School of Business Administration, Keio University
Shinsuke Amano
Representative Director
Japan Federation of Cancer Patient Groups
Masanobu Saito
Head of Value & Access, Novartis Pharma K.K.
Shintaro Sengoku
Professor, School of Environment and Society, Institute of Science Tokyo
Hirokazu Shimoda
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
Yoshiki Sawa
CEO President, Organization of Future Medicine
President, Osaka Keisatsu Hospital
Emeritus Professor, Osaka University
Wataru Akahata
Ph.D., Founder and CEO, VLP Therapeutics, Inc.
Founder, CEO, and Chief R&D Officer, VLP Therapeutics Japan, Inc.
Shinichiro Komoto
Partner, Eight Roads Ventures Japan
Hitoshi Iikura
Ph.D., Director, Executive Vice President
Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Kanae Kurata
Director, Life Sciences Division, Research Promotion Bureau
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
Tomohiro Anzai
Managing Partner, Fast Track Initiative, Inc.
Akihiko Soyama
Executive Producer and General Ambassador, MEDISO
Yasuhiro Fujiwara
M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Executive
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency
Sunao Manabe
Representative Director, Executive Chairperson
Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.
Takashi Kaminagayoshi
Head of Biotherapeutic Process Development Japan, Pharmaceutical Sciences, R&D
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Kai Nishimura
President/Chief Executive Officer Publisher
Nikkei Science Inc.
Yukako Hinohara
Counsellor
National Healthcare Policy Secretariat, Cabinet Office
Hideaki Hanaki
Project Professor
The Ōmura Satoshi Memorial Institute, Kitasato University/
Project Professor, Flotilla Ōmura Memorial Research Organization of Microbial Natural Resources
Ryoji Noritake
Chair, Health and Global Policy Institute
