- Leaping over barriers in hematology Our Principal Investigators: Driving hematological breakthroughs│桝田和宏
- Creating a Better Future through Antibody Therapeutics│宇佐美克明
- “Fearlessly Dream, Act, Reflect, and Pray”: Advancing Medical Research to Make the World a Better Place│小坂宏道
- Pioneering the Future of Hemato-oncology Treatment│江嵜正浩
イノベーション研究者メッセージー挑戦を恐れず、学び続けるー（英語記事）
創薬は時間がかかり、正解のない挑戦の連続です。それでも前に進めるのは、信念と行動、そして失敗から学ぶ姿勢があるから。初期探索を担うイノベーションセンターのリーダーPrincipal Investigatorたちが語る、壁を超えるマインドとは。
目次
Leaping over barriers in hematology Our Principal Investigators: Driving hematological breakthroughs│桝田和宏
Starting this year, Kyowa Kirin has established a new research institute called the Innovation Center, where many researchers work to develop groundbreaking drug discoveries. We believe that the culture of proactivity and collaboration – where each researcher independently generates ideas, proposes them, and engages in discussions – is the key to creating innovative medicines. Kazuhiro Masuda, Ph. D., Principal Investigator at the Kyowa Kirin Innovation Center, who leads research in hematological diseases, believes that a culture of proactivity and collaboration is key to delivering life-changing value.
Kazuhiro leads a dedicated research team focused on developing groundbreaking therapies for patients with hematological diseases. Their mission is to discover novel antibody and protein-based medicines that address serious conditions resulting from abnormal proliferation or reduction of specific blood cells. Kazuhiro and his team’s research can range from the development of new drug therapies to early-stage exploratory research, ensuring that innovative ideas can move from concept to clinical application.
Kyowa Kirin delivers life-changing value to patients with hematologic diseases within Japan. Our dream is to create medicines that help patients with hematologic diseases not only in Japan but also around the world. Toward this dream, we are committed to developing innovative drugs with originality, collaborating with various experts both inside and outside the company. To push the boundaries of what antibody and protein therapeutics can achieve, team members are encouraged to have a sense of ownership and curiosity – to always seek new knowledge and take responsibility for driving research forward. This mentality has yielded considerable success, as the team actively share their work externally through multiple conference presentations and publications in recent years.
As Kazuhiro reflects, "unwavering drug discovery takes time. I believe in staying true to my own philosophy and pursuing research with conviction."
Drug discovery research is an extremely time-consuming endeavor. Therefore, Masuda values two principles. The first is to approach research with an unwavering commitment to one’s own philosophy at the core. The second is to learn from failures. In Japan, employees tend to stay with the same company for extended periods, allowing them to deepen their expertise over time, which he believes has a positive influence on drug discovery research, where new findings often emerge from failures and setbacks. With the ultimate goal of delivering life-changing value to patients worldwide, he encourages the team to view setbacks as opportunities for growth and innovation.
We are proud to have passionate leaders like Kazuhiro driving innovative science at Kyowa Kirin. Stay tuned as we introduce more of our outstanding Principal Investigators.
This article was originally published on Kyowa Kirin’s official LinkedIn account on January 13, 2026.
Creating a Better Future through Antibody Therapeutics│宇佐美克明
At Kyowa Kirin, we believe that innovation is driven by those who dare to embrace challenges and reimagine what’s possible. Katsuaki Usami, Ph, D., Principal Investigator at the Kyowa Kirin Innovation Center, exemplifies this spirit. He believes that bringing together free thinking and strong passion in daily research efforts is the key to delivering new therapies and bringing smiles to patients.
Antibody therapeutics are widely used as essential treatments across various disease areas, including cancer and immune disorders. Katsuaki is dedicated to developing new technologies that enhance the potential of antibody medicines. By pursuing the full potential of antibody biologics, he advances research daily with the goal of creating products that contribute meaningfully to healthcare.
When Katsuaki joined Kyowa Kirin, he was involved in antibody projects aimed at drug discovery. About five years later, he changed his career path to antibody technology development. Although he found that navigating unknown territory brought initial uncertainties and challenges, through continuous learning and growth, he has gained new skills and perspectives and continues to evolve every day.
Katsuaki embarked on a bold challenge, deliberately sacrificing the stability of conventional antibodies to enable antibodies to exert their antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) effector function in a cell-specific manner. Specifically, he succeeded in creating a novel technology where antibodies are cleaved in half (half-antibodies), and effector cells only exert ADCC activity when two types of half-antibodies are reconstituted on the target cell surface. He describes this achievement as the result of curiosity-driven efforts that embrace failure without being bound by convention. This aligns closely with our company’s “KABEGOE Principles” – particularly the value of “Making a Difference.”
Embracing challenges without fear of failure is deeply rooted in the team culture. The team believes in two mottoes: “Discussion is important, but action comes first!” and “The will to help becomes the power to be helped”. These two mantras help foster an open environment, where ideas can be freely proposed regardless of age or position. Because of this supportive and empathetic culture, new experiments and challenges are approached with enthusiasm rather than hesitation. Furthermore, at the Innovation Center, technical teams, like Katsuaki’s, collaborate constructively with disease-focused teams, each leveraging their expertise to generate groundbreaking results.
Katsuaki reflects: ‘’As a drug discovery researcher, I constantly ask myself: if I were a patient, would I truly want to take this medicine? Anything that does not fully meet the needs of patients and society is never acceptable. With this mindset, I will continue to pursue antibody technology development and new therapy creation with sincerity and passion. Our mission is to walk alongside life and deliver medicines that make the future better.’’
By challenging conventional approaches, fostering a team culture that values action and maintaining unwavering focus on patient needs, Katsuaki embodies how free thinking, combined with strong passion for science and research, can unlock innovation in antibody therapeutics. Stay tuned for more of our ‘Meet our Principal Investigator’ series.
This article was originally published on Kyowa Kirin’s official LinkedIn account on January 20, 2026.
Creating a Better Future through Antibody Therapeutics | LinkedIn
“Fearlessly Dream, Act, Reflect, and Pray”: Advancing Medical Research to Make the World a Better Place│小坂宏道
Passion for research and the desire to embrace new challenges are key to creating an organizational culture that celebrates originality, bold ideas and diverse talent. This mindset captures how Hiromichi Kosaka, Ph.D., approaches his work and how he manages his team. Hiromichi’s team is focused on developing Gene & Cell therapy (GCT) technologies, which deliver genes to specific cells within the body to treat diseases.
Hiromichi embarked on a new modality while studying abroad and has since taken this on in his current role. At the time, he never imagined such a path lay ahead. What drove him was a strong desire to help patients. He believed that existing modalities were insufficient, prompting him to challenge himself and venture into new fields. He believes that choosing what must be done—not just what can be done—and following what his heart tells him is right naturally opened the path forward.
This conviction shapes how Hiromichi leads his team – building a culture and work that honors originality, respects individual passion and welcomes bold ideas. The team’s mission is ambitious: to design and synthesize novel functional elements or modalities, the team strives to unlock the full potential and efficacy of GCT.
The team’s strength lies not just in their technical expertise, but also in how they work. Hiromichi has helped assemble a team of diverse talent with varied research backgrounds and values, creating a welcoming workplace where research can progress freely and creatively, and innovation can thrive. Another key advantage the team has is the ability to conduct a broad range of experiments within the same building. Despite its modest size, the Innovation Center and Tokyo Research Park are well-equipped, allowing researchers to engage comprehensively – from material synthesis and production, to efficacy and safety evaluation.
The team operates by the belief that even if we cannot win by speed, we can win by ideas, fueling them to continue to pursue challenges boldly. For the team, their ultimate goal is to serve patients through discovering revolutionary technologies that will improve clinical outcomes. This mindset aligns closely with our company’s KABEGOE Principles of “making a difference” and “being brave and agile”.
An example of the team’s boldness stands out: the development of a virus research laboratory that has now become one of the most advanced research institutions within the company. They have also actively fostered collaborations with leading companies and universities in Europe and the United States, accelerating gene therapy research and development globally. These achievements stem from shared passion and goals, supported by mutual respect and trust across different countries and organizations.
Hiromichi draws inspiration from a Japanese phrase by a prominent immunology professor in Japan: to “fearlessly dream, act, reflect and pray”. He shares his vision: “Going forward, we will continue striving to open new horizons for patients’ futures by realizing innovative gene therapies. Our challenge does not end here – all of our research efforts are to make our patients smile and continue to make the world a better place.”
Hiromichi’s mindset has enabled him and his team to discover and pioneer innovative research and techniques, all of which help us to achieve our goal as a company: to make patients smile. Stay tuned as we introduce more of our outstanding Principal Investigators.
This article was originally published on Kyowa Kirin’s official LinkedIn account on February 17, 2026.
Pioneering the Future of Hemato-oncology Treatment│江嵜正浩
At Kyowa Kirin, we are strongly committed to addressing challenges and helping patients receive the right diagnosis or treatment. Our company culture encourages curiosity and teamwork – two qualities that Masahiro Esaki, Ph.D, Principal Investigator at the Kyowa Kirin Innovation Center, believe are important when it comes to building a place where people can share new ideas freely.
Hemato-oncology is a challenging disease area to treat. To tackle this challenge, Masahiro’s team is working on creating new antibody-based medicines using advanced technology. They are specifically focused on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), a method that connects antibodies to drugs to target cancer cells more precisely. The team is also developing bispecific antibodies that can bind to two targets, and new types of drug payloads. Through these efforts, they hope to offer new treatment options to patients.
Masahiro’s team brings together many kinds of experts – chemists, biologists, antibody and peptide researchers, and pharmacology specialists. This strong mix of skills helps them look at problems from different angles. Most team members are young and full of creative ideas. Some of their drug candidates have already reached clinical trial stage, which may lead to new treatments for patients. Alongside the research, the team also values communication and teamwork, such as engaging in poker and card games, to build stronger relationships and enjoy problem solving outside of research together.
The team lives by several core values. They operate by this motto: “don’t be shy!” to encourage confidence, directness, and action without hesitation. They also view failure as a stepping stone rather than an end, guided by the Japanese belief of “falling forward, always.” Additionally, the team also believes in another Japanese value of “face-to-face greetings building trust”, fostering a safe environment for open communication. Together, these values help shape a culture where bold ideas thrive and researchers feel free to explore, challenge and grow.
Masahiro shares: “among our company’s KABEGOE Principles, I personally hold ‘Be Brave and Agile’ and ‘Ownership’ in the highest regard. These two principles fuel our continuous drive to take on challenges. We dedicate ourselves to maximizing each individual’s potential to create new therapies that change patients’ futures. I am proud to be part of a team that embraces challenges fearlessly and acts with a positive mindset. We will continue to boldly explore unknown possibilities. Let’s get together on this journey of innovation.”
Masahiro’s passion to create a collaborative, open and safe space for the team to thrive is a crucial driving force for everything we do here at Kyowa Kirin. Stay tuned as we introduce more of our outstanding Principal Investigators.
This article was originally published on Kyowa Kirin’s official LinkedIn account on January 27, 2026.
Pioneering the Future of Hemato-oncology Treatment | LinkedIn
協和キリンの「イノベーション」についてもっと知る
