KAWAHASHI
NOBUO

Representative Director, President and COO, JSR Corporation

To Make JKiC the world’s leading innovation hub

JSR Corporation was founded as a high-polymer maker producing rubber used as raw material to manufacture tires, but in the intervening years, we have expanded the scope of our business by advancing into semiconductor fabrication use parts, liquid crystal display use parts etc. In the future, JSR will advance more vigorously in order to establish its life science business as a new major profit source. JSR Corporation has, building on its previously refined advanced particle design technology, surface control technology and other relevant technologies, brought KBI Biopharma, Selexis, and Medical & Biological Laboratories Co., under its umbrella and will internally incorporate biomedicine manufacturing technology, analysis technology, cell lines, and antibody manufacturing technologies. This is in order to obtain precision manufacturing related products that are indispensable for the production of diagnostic agents and biomedicines as well as to further globalize its business. In addition to the independent development of new technologies, we intend to expand new technologies through open innovation.

JKiC is a splendid research institute that enables JSR to create new technologies in the finest possible environment. JKiC will provide us with access to both the Keio University School of Medicine and Keio University Hospital along with an understanding of the needs of the medical treatment field. To promote JKiC, it will be important to develop an environment in which major and minor innovations are generated, in addition to cheering them on.

For innovations to appear, researchers with diverse backgrounds must team up to combine their unique perspectives, take the time to build trusting relationships, repeatedly conduct in-depth discussions, and go through the trial and error process. To this end, JKiC has launched an initiative that is unprecedented in the chemical and material maker world. We have established a research institute on the premises of the School of Medicine and University Hospital to enable the three parties of industry, academia, and medicine to conduct joint research and development in one single location. The research institute however, is not only for performing R&D activities. Two departments have been established. The Industry Academia-Medicine Liaison Department for smoothing cooperation between industry, academia and medicine, along with the Operation Department tasked with transforming new technologies into value, which can be returned to society. We will make JKiC serve as a place of abundant innovation. Furthermore, we want JKiC to initiate a natural circle of innovation, in which innovation brings more innovation. A place where researchers can create, share, and realize new concepts that will naturally attract researchers who embrace new aspirations from around the world. This is an innovation hub. Silicon Valley is the clearest example of our vision. We will strive to ensure an environment where physicians and researchers at Keio University will share their ideas, needs, and hunches, as well as enable them to freely work on joint research and development. This will synergistically work to eventually transform research and development from simply outcomes into practical applications.

We expect that many innovations will be launched from JKiC which will in turn lead a revolution in the medical treatment field. We earnestly pray that in this way, we will contribute to a healthy and long-living society as well as improve all patients quality of life (QOL).