2024summer
We interviewed Mr. Koga, the new Director of JSR Bioscienceand informatics R&D center (JSR BiRD).

The newly appointed Center Director, Mr. Hirohisa KOGA
JSR Bioscience and informatics R&D center (JSR BiRD) opened at King SkyFront Kawasaki City in July 2021.
JSR BiRD is working to create value for the future as the R&D center playing a key role from life science
research and open innovation of JSR group. We interviewed the new Director Mr. Koga who was appointed inthis April, about the operations and objectives of JSR BiRD and his visions for the future.

About JSR BiRD

JSR has three main businesses: Digital Solutions, LifeSciences, and Plastics. JSR BiRD was established withthe goal of promoting new businesses and research. Weare conducting research related to medicine andhealthcare in the microbiome field, which is related toour "life sciences" business, as well as developing
substances that can be used in DDS (drug deliverysystems). The center currently has 60-70 employees,
including full-time and part-time staff.

Activities at King SkyFront

JSR BiRD promotes open innovation. In fact, while
conducting joint research with several companies, thesecompanies have moved into our center and use the lab
together. We utilize and provide our center as a place
where people can interact closely and ask questions
when they are not sure of something. Also, it is possible
for tenant companies to use this center to organize andparticipate in events. I believe that this initiative toattract start-ups to move into the same building on thepremise of joint research is one of the most cutting-edge
efforts of its kind in the world.

About Mr. Koga, Director

I joined JSR from another company. Previously, I
began my career as a researcher, then progressed intostrategic planning and business development roles.
With this experience, I am now in charge of promoting
the social implementation and commercialization ofresearch at JSR BiRD.

Future ambitions

JSR has a corporate mission of "MATERIALSINNOVATION," and we want to contribute to society
through manufacturing and services. At JSR BiRD, I
believe that our most important mission is to"transform technology into value that will berecognized by the world," and I would like to work
toward that goal.

The exterior of JSR BiRD

Press releaseNew company logo.
Knowledge Palette Inc. is a life science and healthcare startup company that continues to grow through R&D andcollaboration.The core competence is large-scale transcriptome analysis technology that provides the world's mostaccurate and rapid profiling of big cellular data, and cell control technology that uses that information. We would like tointroduce our new logo that visually expresses our thoughts behind the corporate identity “KP WAY”. The arrows in thelogo represent the initials "K" and "P" of Knowledge Palette, as well as the control of cells by human hands, the creationof innovative technologies, and their continued expansion. The colors also have meaning. The blue of the sea and sky
expresses the depth of the member’s thoughts, and the navy blue is their thoughts that get deeper, while the green
conveys the earth and nature. Finally, by using a color that is close to the blue of the previous logo for the central circle(seed), it communicates the company’s continuity since its founding and that it will continue to grow without straying
from its core.

【New】

【Old】
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Hot Topics

Visit of Dr. Masahito MORIYAMA, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
to King SkyFront
Dr. Masahito MORIYAMA, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology visited King SkyFront.
Innovation of NanoMedicine, one of the sites visited is the open innovation facility where human resources, intellectual
properties and outcome of diverse companies and universities accumulate. He was briefed on active research activities
and vigorous incubation business which support social implementation of research
result. He also interacted with iCONM researchers and group photo was taken in theend of the event with flags of countries of each researcher. After lab tour andinteraction with researchers, Dr. MORIYAMA said that the Ministry of Education,Culture, Sports, Science and Technology anticipated and would like to support thefuture development which will broaden the base of Japan’s research infrastructure
and raise its peak to the higher level, so that it will result in cutting-edge researchand technology which could be achieved only in Japan.

盛山正仁 文部科学大臣が視察にお越しになりました

click here for details【photo by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology】” The social gathering of King SkyFront Network Council” for building face to face relationships
On May 21st, the King SkyFront Network Council held its 2024 Annual General Meeting. The Annual General Meeting
had a lively discussion on the business report for fiscal year 2023 and the outlook business plan for fiscal year 2024 witha new organization presented to fulfil the overall goals of King SkyFront. After the Annual General Meeting, thecustomary social gathering of King SkyFront Network Council” for enhancing face toface relationships was held. When the Annual General Meeting ended, people from theinstitutions located at King SkyFront gathered and a total number of more than one
hundred people had a convivial networking opportunity over refreshments. The people
who usually communicate online or email were able to make an even stronger bonding
with this face to face gathering. The King SkyFront recognizes the critical importance of“Building face to face relationships” with such activities.

盛山正仁 文部科学大臣が視察にお越しになりました

click here for details

iCONM Now
Stealth Essential for Nanomedicines

Nanomedicine is a pharmaceutical therapy that improves efficacy and safety with smaller doses by loading lessbioavailable drugs, such as those that are poorly absorbed from the site of administration, poorly integrated into the sicktissues, easily metabolized, easily broken, or easily excreted, onto a carrier such as a polymeric nano-micelle. However,the carrier itself must be stable in vivo. In the SF movie "Fantastic Voyage", medical doctors who have been minimized
to the micron level perform a treatment from inside his body, but one of the doctors loses his life due to an immune
attack. Polyethylene glycol (PEG), the outer shell (hydrophilic side) of the nanomachines created by iCONM, is a typicalexample of a stealthy material that the immune system does not recognize as
foreign and maintains stability in vivo. Nanomedicine needs something skilled in
the art of stealth. Other than PEG, poly(2-oxazolines) (POxs) are now attracting
attention as stealthy polymers that can be chemically modified at various sites withless restriction on synthetic conditions. Recently, a simple and rapid synthesis of ahighly diverse library of POxs was reported by Dr. Joachim Van Guyse (AssistantProfessor, Leiden University, Netherlands) and his colleagues. This work was doneduring his postdoctoral fellowship at iCONM, and many iCONM researchers arelisted as authors of the paper.

盛山正仁 文部科学大臣が視察にお越しになりました

J. Van Guyse et al., Angewandte Chemie, e202404972

https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202404972