We are trying to create innovative next-generation medicine by integrating cutting-edge bio and digital technologies and novel platforms in which many researchers can play active roles
NextGeM was founded to develop next-generation medicine with safety by fully utilizing the potential of hematopoietic stem cells and are trying to provide innovative products or services in this area.
Also, we are developing new diagnostic or treatment method by using AI or digital technologies.We are integrating these bio and digital tech and collaborating with industry and academia in the areas with high unmet medical needs.
Recently, the social and industrial structures have been globalised rapidly and brand-new business models have been emerging with epoch-making innovation in many industries.It is getting to be more and more important to create brand-new values by fully integrating cutting-edge techs or solutions.
In.Japan, it is highly necessary to innovate and grow new values.In order to win the cutthroat global competition, we have to construct a novel platform which are composed of wide range of stakeholders regardless of industry, academia, government or borders.
We also feel that it is our mission to make a strong team with young excellent people as a role model for young researchers career.
CEO Masakazu Nakajima
Based on our vision of “realizing next-generation medical innovation through the fusion of cutting-edge bio-digital technologies and creating a platform on which many researchers can work”, we aim to realize “a society in which all people can receive high-quality medical care” and “a society in which innovation is created in a sustainable manner”. We are promoting the following activities.
We believe that these efforts will lead to the achievement of the SDGs, which consist of 17 goals, and we will actively contribute to the achievement of the SDGs through the following specific efforts.
By integrating our cutting-edge bio-digital technologies, we will contribute to a society in which all people can receive high quality medical care by providing innovative solutions in each phase of medical care: prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Specifically, we will tackle social and global medical issues such as curative treatment of rare and intractable blood diseases, infertility treatment, and antimicrobial resistance.
By utilizing our cutting-edge bio-digital technology, we aim to achieve a higher level of economic productivity by reforming the medical field, which tends to be labor-intensive, in addition to providing high added medical value.
Specifically, we will provide high-added medical value by using next-generation biotechnologies related to human long-term hematopoietic stem cells, and promote digital experience (DX) to reduce the burden on medical workplaces by utilizing the latest digital technologies such as AI and cloud computing.
We aim to promote scientific research in the healthcare industry sector in all countries, including developing countries, to improve technological capabilities, and ultimately to develop affordable, high-quality medical technology, by promoting public-private research-driven innovation and by working to improve the number of young R&D workers who will lead the next generation and significantly increase the number of young R&D workers.
Specifically, we will create an environment where people can play an active role in technology creation by collaborating with industry, government, and academia to create innovations on their own, building a collaborative platform to accelerate innovation based on their experiences, and in addition, actively promoting young researchers of the next generation and building a connection platform.
| Company name | NextGeM Inc. NextGeM = Next Generation of Medicine |
|---|---|
| CEO | Masakazu Nakajima |
| Establishment | April 2016 |
| Tokyo Lab. | 1-5-13 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0041 |
| Kobe Lab. | 6-3-5 Minatojima Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo 650-0047 |
| Business purpose | Development of next generation regenerative medicine innovation using stem cells |
Co-founder, Director
Masakazu is a co-founder and serves as Chief Executive Officer of NextGeM, having 20+ years of working experience specializing in business incubation/ development, venture capital / private equity investment and cross border M&As around Asia-Pacific time zone including Japan. After graduated from Kyoto University engineering department, joined ITOCHU Corporation, where he was responsible for project development and business investment in Asia. After that, he was in charge of corporate planning department at Cyber Agent Inc., venture capital, private equity and range of alternative investment at Schroder Ventures and Macquarie Capital around Asia Pacific. Most recently, he is engaging in seed/ early stage investment, business development and cross boarder M&As to incubate series of start-ups including healthcare/ medical space.
Other responsibilities (medical & healthcare related)
– Welby Inc. (TSE: 4438) (Non-executive Director, Co-founder)
– Soiken Holdings Inc. (TSE: 2385) (Non-executive Director)
Director, General Manager of R&D Division
Mac has over 35 years management experience in research and product development at Panasonic and Nihon Kohden. During his over 20 years tenure in the US, Mac has conducted many collaborative research projects with top universities and hospitals including MIT, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of California. Mac was also a co-founder of a drug discovery start-up, Tensor Biosciences, in California.
He returned to Japan in 2016 as General Manager of RIKEN (Japanese national research center) and then moved to Osaka University in 2020 as General Manager & Project Researcher, Initiative for Life Design Innovation Strategic Office. BS and MS, Osaka University, Ph.D. Nagoya City University Medical School. He has been a Director of NextGeM since April 2020.
Director
BSc, Department of Technology, Osaka University. Ph.D., Graduate School of Agriculture, the University of Tokyo. Studied at the University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. After working at Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Biotechnology Research Institute and Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma / Genomic Science Laboratories Director, transferred to the Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Kobe (currently KOBE Biomedical Innovation Cluster) in 2013. Board Director of NextGeM since 2020.
Director
Kiyoharu has over 35 years management experience in clinical development and regulatory affairs at Organon Japan, Allergan, Bausch & Lomb Japan, B. Braun Aesculap, and others after graduated from Tokyo University of Science, Faculty of Science Division I.
He has been an independent medical device regulatory consultant since 2018. He was appointed CEO of Tama Bio 2021 to 2022. In 2024, he was appointed as a Director of NexGeM Inc.
Co-founder, MD., Ph.D
Masanori is a co-founder and serves as the Chief Scientific Officer of NextGeM. He also leads a basic science research group at RIKEN BDR conducting fundamental research on the hematopoietic stem cell. His passion for stem cell biology stems from his work with Irving L. Weissman at Stanford University, where he developed, along with NextGeM co-founder (James) to reshape how we purify and study the true hematopoietic stem cell. Their work was published in Nature in 2016. Masanori is also a physician-scientist, with clinical specialization in OBGYN, earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in Molecular biology and Immunology from Kyoto University, published his thesis regarding macrophage biology in Nature in 2007, and was appointed as an Assistant Professor at Kyoto University in 2011. He has spent nearly 15 years in the basic research including Stem Cell Biology and has authored numerous publications.
Graduating from Kyoto University Graduate School of Electric Engineering, joined NTT DATA Corporation. Since 2000 in charge of solution development at Cyber Agent Inc, led the establishment and promotion of new business, built up recruitment, training and evaluation system, laid the base of the company’s media business. After served IT Division of MUFG Bank, Ltd., he engaged in projects related to IT solutions,IT consulting, and planning, development, management of digital contents. Also he had a lot of experience of AI(machine learning/natural language processing) project.
Advisor
After graduating from faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Osaka University, Hirosaki joined Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (present: Astellas Pharma Inc.). He served as a Director of International Coordination, Clinical Research Center of Fujisawa Research Institute of America, Inc. (Chicago) and a Senior Vice President of Global Planning & Administration, Astellas Pharma Global Development. After those responsibilities, he became a Corporate Executive and a Japan & Asia Development Head. He developed Cephem antibiotics, antifungal agent Micafungin®, and led the clinical development of many drugs including immunosuppressant Prograf®, used for suppressing rejection reactions in organ transplantation.
Co-founder & Scientific Advisor
James is a co-founder and serves as a Scientific Advisor for NextGeM. He previously served as the Director of Translational Medicine at Forty Seven Inc., a public clinical-stage biotech company ($FTSV) focused on developing novel anti-cancer therapies targeting the CD47-SIRPa axis. He is currently completing his residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, he earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine under Irving L. Weissman from Stanford University, and B.S. in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, summa cum laude, from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). He has spent nearly 15 years in stem cell biology and hematology and has authored numerous publications including in Nature, Cell, and the New England Journal of Medicine
Business Development Manager
After graduating from faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Keiji joined Roland Berger, Europe’s largest strategy consulting farm. He supported business / technical strategy formulation and execution for major pharmaceutical / medical equipment / consumer goods companies. After that, he turned to the Japanese Organization for Medical Device Development, Inc. (JOMDD), an incubator specialized in healthcare, engaged in business development in advanced technology fields including regenerative medicine and digital health.
System Architect
Joined CyberAgent Inc. in 2004 after working experience some contract development. Responsible for developing new business launch such as various media and social apps. Joined Mercari Inc. in 2016. Transferred to the US department, took charge of service development of the US, and became CTO of Mercari Inc.
Communication Ambassador
2014-Medical Schoolof Kyoto University,Kyoto, Japan, Candidate MD, expected in March 2020. 2015 November–December Stanford University, U.S. The Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology Laboratory Researching about “sleep and circadian neurobiology”. 2017 July –October Queen’s University,Canada Queen’s eye laboratory Researching about “the brain function of ADHD and bipolar disorder patients” Scholarship:”Tobitate! Ryugaku Japan”. 2018 June The 163rd General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions(BIE) working as a Japanese Affiliate.
As a research team, we recognize the importance of ethical principles of medical research and animal welfare, including its legal sides, considering the life-threatening factors of research field. Based on this recognition, we have established and currently operating the “Human organization research ethics committee” and “Animal experiment ethics committee”.
| Name | Belongs | Speciality |
|---|---|---|
| Ryuji Hiramatsu* | Non-exective director of NextGeM Inc. | Experts in natural sciences(R&D, Ph.D.) |
| Satoru Otsuru | The University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA | Experts in natural sciences(physician, plastic surgery, MD, Ph.D.) |
| Goh Ohji | Research center for urban safety and security, Kobe University | Experts in natural sciences(general internist, infectious disease, gastroenterology, endoscopist, MD) |
| Natsuko Shimizu | Shimizu Aragaki Law Office | Experts in humanities and social sciences(lawyer) |
| Minako Isogai | NextGeM Inc. | Experts in humanities and social sciences |
| Toko Shiotsuki | CyberAgent Inc. | Person representing the general position including the perspective of the research subject(Director (Audit Committee Member)) |
| Maya Ishitsuki | No affiliation | Person representing the general position including the perspective of the research subject |
*Committee chair
| Name | Belongs | Speciality |
|---|---|---|
| Ryuji Hiramatsu * | Non-exective director of NextGeM Inc. | Experts in natural sciences(R&D, Ph.D.) |
| Norimasa Sawada | Sapporo Medical University. | Experts in natural sciences(Professor Emeritus, Pathologist, M.D., Ph.D.) |
| Goh Ohji | Research center for urban safety and security, Kobe University | Experts in natural sciences(general internist, infectious disease, gastroenterology, endoscopist, MD) |
| Natsuko Shimizu | Shimizu Aragaki Law Office | Experts in humanities and social sciences(lawyer) |
| Minako Isogai | NextGeM Inc. | Experts in humanities and social sciences |
| Toko Shiotsuki | CyberAgent Inc. | Person representing the general position including the perspective of the research subject(Director (Audit Committee Member)) |
| Maya Ishitsuki | No affiliation | Person representing the general position including the perspective of the research subject |
*Committee chair
6-3-5 Minatojima Minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo 650-0047
Kobe Bio Lab. at KCMI
Kobe Bio Lab.(entrance)
Kobe Bio Lab.(floor)
1-5-13 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0041
Business purpose:Development of next-generation bio/medical technologies in bacterial infectious disease by utilizing AI/bioinformatics
