On Wednesday, October 8th, the Nakanoshima Qross Future Medicine Forum in YOKOHAMA was held.

On Wednesday, October 8, 2025, the Nakanoshima Qross Future Medicine Forum in YOKOHAMA was held at TKP Garden City PREMIUM Yokohama Landmark Tower (Yokohama City).

This forum was held to introduce the progress of the Nakanoshima Qross Drug Discovery and Practical Application Promotion Program, which was adopted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Discovery Cluster Campus Development Project, and to promote new co-creation with domestic and international startups, investors, and pharmaceutical companies.

Nakanoshima Qross, based in Nakanoshima, Osaka as an "international hub for future medicine," brings together medical institutions, companies, startups, and support organizations to create a system that provides comprehensive support from the practical application of drug discovery seeds to social implementation.

The forum explored the potential of Japan's drug discovery ecosystem from multiple perspectives, including policy background and NQ's initiatives, pitches by supported startups, introductions to the latest initiatives by global pharmaceutical companies and accelerators, and discussions on the development of CDMO businesses.

In the opening remarks, Chairman Yoshiki Sawa outlined the vision and strategy of the Nakanoshima Cross Drug Discovery Cluster Campus Project, a new initiative aimed at bridging Japan's science and technology gaps and facilitating its implementation in society. Going forward, the project will promote global-level incubation and strengthen the development of entrepreneurial talent through the expansion of support systems with incubators and accelerators such as CIC, Plug and Play, and LINK-J. Furthermore, by promoting CDMO businesses and expanding international collaborations, the project will advance collaborations with over 50 countries around the world. Using the metaphor of a "science casino" as a place for investing in the value of science, Sawa expressed his determination to expand from Nakanoshima to the world.

Next, Ken Annaka (Director of the Pharmaceutical Industry Promotion and Medical Information Planning Division, Medical Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) explained the national policy background for strengthening Japan's drug discovery capabilities and the positioning of the Drug Discovery Cluster Campus project.
First, with the diversification of pharmaceutical modalities, drug discovery has expanded from a period centered on small molecule compounds to biopharmaceuticals, cell therapy, and gene therapy.Research and development is becoming more sophisticated and complexThe current situation has been revealed.Horizontal division of labor through collaboration with academia and ventures is a global trendIt was pointed out that strengthening such systems is an urgent priority in Japan as well. Meanwhile, while the creation of innovative drugs is progressing overseas, the problem of "drug lag" and "drug loss," where development and introduction are delayed, is resurfacing in Japan, and it was reported that many venture-developed drugs have not yet begun development. To address these issues, the government has positioned drug discovery as a core national industry and is strengthening its implementation system through public-private collaboration. As part of this, the government is promoting the "Drug Discovery Cluster Campus Development Project," which supports startups and builds ecosystems at bases nationwide, including Nakanoshima in Osaka. Furthermore, to support the continued practical application of innovative drugs, a new "Practical Application Support Fund" has been established, introducing a system to support incubation activities through public-private investment.

Next, a panel discussion was held with co-moderators, Chairman Sawa and Assistant Chairman Jun Miyagawa, on the theme of "Expectations for the Drug Discovery Cluster Campus Project at Nakanoshima Qross."

This session focused on the "implementation phase" of the drug discovery cluster centered around Nakanoshima Cross, and discussed how to seamlessly establish global expansion, acceleration, CDMO and clinical networks.

First, Seiji Iwasaki (Senior Manager, Health, Plug and Play Japan) introduced a model for supporting the scale of digital health through collaboration with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device companies both in Japan and overseas, leveraging a network of approximately 60 locations worldwide and investment/acceleration. He shared plans to systematize inbound and outbound flows through collaboration between locations, and to provide practical support for overseas expansion (one-on-one matching at the BioTech Showcase, introductions to local business companies, utilization of side events, etc.) in conjunction with JPM Week (January 2014, the week when the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference is held) in collaboration with Nakanoshima.

Next, Ayano Kagami (CIC Institute Assistant Director) presented an "Innovation Campus" management model that goes beyond providing office space and combines large-scale event management, community building, and support for overseas expansion. Based on the operational track record of the Tokyo base, she outlined a policy to open a third domestic base in Nakanoshima in spring 2014, accelerate the creation of a space and program operation specializing in life sciences, and establish a system to continuously attract domestic and international stakeholders.

Yoshihide Ishii, President and CEO of Alloy Therapeutics Inc., introduced a venture studio-style drug discovery model. Based on the basic philosophy of "minimizing down payments and providing broad support to maximize clinical entry," he emphasized a high-speed, low-cost approach that requires candidates to be developed within two years at a scale of several hundred million yen. He also mentioned the idea of ​​incorporating cutting-edge US and European technology and operational know-how, and applying a "two-person" approach to commercialization support to the Nakanoshima project.

The panel discussion outlined specific challenges and solutions, including: (1) overcoming the "valley of death" through information warfare (pitch design that delves into manufacturability, clinical trial design, PD markers, competition and reasons for adoption, and even administration route), (2) equity design and governance (dilution management to withstand mid- to long-term fundraising), and (3) overseas base strategy (securing physical bases, including alternatives in high-cost areas). Furthermore, a concept was shared of gradually eliminating bottlenecks from regulatory compliance, PoC, to implementation by having Nakanoshima CDMO function as a "highly public receptacle" and linking clinical trial networks with overseas KOLs.

Finally, the operational principle of "selective and deep" support was confirmed. The policy is to ensure a wide pool of candidates, while focusing on a small number of companies for intensive support, such as support for overseas expansion, in order to improve the quality and speed of results. Nakanoshima Cross has clarified its next step, which is to quickly build relationships with global partners and take the first step toward implementation, by combining the strengths of each accelerator and supporter.

The next part was "Introduction to the startups supported by this project (overseas travel program)," and Takami Murao (Manager of the Startup Support Department at the Future Medical Promotion Organization (Kansai Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)) began by explaining the policy of the dispatch program that supports the overseas expansion of drug discovery startups. This support program aims to support activities in the United States and other countries with the aim of fundraising, international collaboration, and building a clinical trial system, and will be implemented by utilizing Nakanoshima Cross's network of medical institutions, companies, and academia. After the explanation, nine startups that are supported gave pitches.

(The nine startups being supported can be found here:https://nq20251008.peatix.com/view）

This session discussed implementation theories for accelerating the industrialization of regenerative medicine products from academia, industry, and government perspectives. First, in the field of regenerative medicine, where clinical and technological advances are the norm, strengthening "design capabilities"—the ability to consider processes—including standardization and guideline development—is a top priority. It was confirmed that developing process design talent, not just manufacturing talent, is crucial. From the government perspective, the Drug Discovery Venture Support Fund (totaling ¥350 billion) and the framework for establishing CDMO bases were introduced, and the operation of pipeline-level support, spurred by investment from certified venture capitalists, was shared. Having a manufacturing base within Japan is essential from the perspective of economic security, and a direction was outlined for developing CDMOs as contract manufacturing businesses into a foreign currency-earning industry, centered on Japan's strength in iPS cells.

Regarding mass production, the key is to shift from traditional small-scale development to mass production utilizing pluripotent stem cells. The panelists shared a policy of securing "cells that will serve as drug substances" in advance in anticipation of expanding demand and promoting breakthroughs in equipment and systems. Meanwhile, the key to industrialization is the "D (development)" stage, and the current bottleneck is the approximately six months it takes to transfer technology to a CDMO. The panelists highlighted the need to shorten the transfer time and improve cost-effectiveness through both scale-down verification, which reproduces mass-production conditions on a small scale, and forward-looking simulations based on that data. Cell loss during the dispensing and freezing processes, in particular, was identified as a key issue that should be reflected in training and standard procedures as soon as possible.

Nakanoshima Cross will utilize its concentration of CDMOs, cultivation equipment manufacturers, and engineers to present an ecosystem that will accompany businesses with "ultimate meddlesomeness" as a launch pad and runway where "if you bring it in, we'll do something about it." Centered around a pilot-scale plant scheduled for installation in 26, Nakanoshima Cross will promote an integrated system-type CDMO business, with manufacturers securing the rights to use the results of joint development while allowing the consortium to freely utilize them. Furthermore, the "KOC (Ultimate Meddlesome Center)" concept will be based on the three pillars of startup incubation, human resource development, and CDMO, and will take steps to create a system that increases the number of "people who understand" through a cycle of teaching and learning.

Unresolved issues included transparency of fund balances and allocation plans, quantification of the mass production roadmap for 2030 demand, development of evaluation tools/playbooks for D functions, and standardization of tech transfer (allocation of responsibilities and setting deadlines). As a next-phase action, the early presentation of an action plan based on figures and milestones was called for.

During the networking session following the forum, there was a lively exchange of opinions between speakers and participants, leading to interaction that transcended fields and positions.

This forum not only concretely demonstrated the potential of the "Nakanoshima Model" to promote Japan's drug discovery capabilities and the industrialization of regenerative medicine, but also marked a major step toward accelerating the social implementation of future medicine through international networks and co-creation. It is hoped that this movement, which began in Nakanoshima, will create a new wave of drug discovery and medical innovation that connects with the world.