Nobuhito Saito is Director of the University of Tokyo Hospital, and was appointed as the fourth Head of the Translational Research (TR) Initiative from April 2015.

The University of Tokyo’s TR Initiative was founded in 2007 with the objective of promoting practical application of the University’s medical research findings in order to contribute to medicine at large. As part of these efforts, since 2013 we have appointed full time faculty and staff with an extensive background in the pharmaceutical industry and a wealth of experience in TR, and worked to refine our strategies, organization, and working-level measures in order to bring new energy to the Initiative.

Since the turn of the century, there have been several remarkable research breakthroughs in a range of medical fields. This progress has sparked keen anticipation for application of these findings in new medical products and devices that will dramatically improve the health and lifestyles of people around the world. However, this has proved difficult in reality. For example, R&D-based pharmaceutical companies face a major challenge in developing innovative new medicines on an ongoing basis. These circumstances have led to an increasingly widespread awareness of the importance of “open innovation.” We believe that academia must bear part of the responsibility for addressing this situation by proactively conducting reform and developing new mechanisms to facilitate collaboration with business. In order to fulfill this duty as an academic institution, we have revised the TR Initiative from its foundations to create a new framework. Through the TR Initiative, the University of Tokyo aims to maximize the potential of the fundamental research academia excels at, while working together with industry to further strengthen translational research and meet the needs of our business partners more effectively than ever before.

Furthermore, as one of Japan’s leading academic institutions, the University of Tokyo is actively supporting the Japanese government’s efforts to promote medical innovation, exemplified by the establishment of the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development. Through these collaborative efforts, we aim to apply the results of our research on a practical level to deliver new hope to patients suffering illnesses around the world.

We look forward to your understanding, support, and active participation as we move forward.