Translational Research Conducted under the All Hokkaido Translational Research Project for Advanced Medicine

Overview of the First Stage and an Outline of the Second Stage

A conference to review the 2012 accomplishments of the Network Program for Accelerating Translational Research supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), was held in March 2013 in Tokyo. Here it was officially announced that the goal of the first stage program, “To obtain acceptance of at least two clinical trials of Seeds Research in accordance with the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act,” was successfully achieved with the participation of seven institutions in Japan. The “All Hokkaido Translational Research Project for Advanced Medicine” was highlighted as a result of the extraordinary success of the Translational Research center in Hokkaido achieving the objectives of conducting two clinical trials initiated by medical doctors and organizing the infrastructure to train personnel and develop cooperating networks. The success of this project has enabled the establishment of the first Hokkaido organization to apply and put into practice basic academic research findings in accordance with internationally accepted standards. Basic research projects in Hokkaido involving clinical trials have so far been performed piecemeal, but it is now possible to consolidate these under the umbrella of the HTR. The significance of the success with this project undertaken at institutions throughout Hokkaido lies in both the unified effort to create the human and intellectual structures to implement Translation Research support projects, as a part of a national effort, and in confident pursuit of Translation Research. All organizations and personnel involved recognize the significance and the responsibilities involved in the development of this project to continue to produce results in the years to come.

 

Followed by the initial success of the project in the first stage, the second stage of the project, known as the Network Program for Accelerating Translational Research, was initiated in April, 2012 with the support of MEXT. The HTR has five years to complete the second stage of the project. During this time the HTR is expected to be a leader for institutions in and outside Hokkaido, making full use of the resources of the HTR. The tasks comprise three key objectives: improvements to the administrative arrangements, ensuring international competitiveness, and independence through greater investment efficiency. The HTR will strengthen and develop infrastructure to manage resources efficiently and promote the development of improved methods to evaluate and maintain the flow of new and follow-up Seeds Research. Also, it will implement the research, development, and application of results in cooperation with commercial companies, aiming to strengthen and develop the structure of the Translation Research. By ensuring the efficient use of intellectual property rights obtained through integration of academic research and making it easier to collect data that will enable international acceptance of the findings, the HTR will continually work to strengthen our international competitiveness.