-- Cooperating with 11 domestic and overseas organizations to further strengthen the creation of continuous innovations --
Life Science Innovation Network Japan, Inc. (head office: Nihonbashi-Honcho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; chairman of the board: Hideyuki Okano; hereinafter "LINK-J") concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation aimed at creating innovations in the field of life sciences with Yokohama, Kanagawa on August 30th. LINK-J is a general incorporated association based in Nihonbashi in Tokyo that supports the commercialization of seeds and ideas in the field of life sciences by promoting human interaction and technological exchange. Yokohama has produced results establishing an environment for research and supporting projects by corporations and research institutions in the field of life sciences. For LINK-J, this is the second MOU with a municipality, after the city of Kawasaki, and the 11th partnership with a life science organization.
Akio Ozawa, Director General of the City of Yokohama, and Akihiko Soyama,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Director of LINK-J
The City of Yokohama promotes Life Innovation Platform Yokohama (hereinafter "LIP.Yokohama") by forming partnerships in industry, academia, government, and finance in order to continuously create innovations in the fields of health and medicine. Not only does LIP.Yokohama produce innovative projects from its network of companies, universities, and research institutions, it also supports medium-to-small startups in their quest to commercialize products. It promotes the development of new technologies and products. Furthermore, beginning with the establishment of Kanazawa Bio Park in 1988, the city of Yokohama has spent many years establishing a foundation for the life science industry, such as through luring Riken and opening the Yokohama City University Tsurumi Campus, and creates innovations as the life science cluster.
LINK-J and the city of Yokohama have worked together in various ways through participating in each other's events and encouraging their employees to interact and have decided to conclude this MOU to further advance their collaborative efforts. As a result, they have agreed to cooperate over the next five years in co-hosting, cooperating toward, and spreading awareness of activities, events, and programs; sharing information online through email newsletters; and cooperating in partnered promotions with Japanese and international bio-clusters.
So far, LINK-J has signed MOUs to create life science-related innovations with the following business alliance partners: the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and Biocom (a life science organization in San Diego, U.S.A.) in May 2016; Eurobiomed (a life science organization in Southern France) in June 2017; Kyoto Research Park Corp. (Japan's first privately operated research park) in July 2017; One Nucleus (a large life science organization in Europe) in December 2017; the Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation in Kobe in February 2018; the Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University (Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Pref.) in April 2018; MedCity (a U.K. organization to promote the industrialization of life sciences research) in June 2018; the City of Kawasaki in August 2018; and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in June 2019. This latest agreement makes the city of Yokohama the 11th MOU partner of LINK-J. Moving forward, LINK-J will serve as a more influential global hub in the life sciences field by cooperating more broadly with additional life science organizations, both in Japan and internationally.
Akio Ozawa, Director General for Life innovation and Special Zone Promotion, Economic Affairs Bureau, City of Yokohama, commented on the MOU as follows. "I am grateful that I will be able to further advance LIP.Yokohama's endeavors by cooperating with LINK-J, which has over 360 corporate and individual members from companies, universities, public institutions, and related organizations in the field of life sciences. In the future, I look forward to advancing open innovations in the field of life sciences further by setting up opportunities for each of these members to get together and interact."
"We are very pleased to have achieved this cooperative alliance with the city of Yokohama, which is one of the greatest life science clusters in Japan with 26 universities, 180 research institutions, 9,000 life science corporations, and 3,104 medical facilities. Looking ahead, exchanges between LINK-J and the city of Yokohama will support the creation of new value as we continue to contribute to the activation of the life science industry as a whole by further interacting with our 11 alliance partners both in Japan and abroad," said Akihiko Soyama, Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of LINK-J.
Moving forward, LINK-J will continue to stimulate the creation of life science innovations, contribute to the advancement of life science industries, and contribute in resolving life science-related issues for people around the world.
About Life Science Innovation Network Japan, Inc. (LINK-J)
LINK-J is a general incorporated association established by Mitsui Fudosan and volunteers from industries and academic circles. With its base in the Nihonbashi area, where a number of pharmaceutical companies are clustered, LINK-J aims to promote open innovation in the life sciences realm through industry-government-academia cooperation and to support the creation of new industries. Across the entire life sciences arena, i.e., the arena where all sciences combine -- ranging from medicine to science and further to engineering and new technologies, such as information and communication technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI) -- it will accelerate interdisciplinary human interaction and technological exchange.