Bristol Myers Squibb, a biopharmaceutical company, announced on January 2021, 1 that it will donate a total of 27 billion yen (about 55 million US dollars) to Kyoto University.The purpose is to support cancer immunotherapy research promoted by Tasuku Honjo, the director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine (Special Professor, Kyoto University Institute of Advanced Studies), who is the recipient of the Nobel Prize.
Kyoto University will use this donation to fund the construction of the headquarters building of the Cancer Immunotherapy Research Center.The Cancer Immunotherapy Research Center was established in April 2020 at the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, and is Japan's first research institute specializing in cancer immunotherapy research. Mr. Tasuku Honjo (Special Professor, Kyoto University Institute of Advanced Studies), who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 4 for his achievements in discovering PD-1, was appointed as the first director of the center, and cancer immunity for the next generation of cancer treatment. It serves as a hub for domestic and foreign researchers working on the scientific development of therapy.
The headquarters building "Bristol Myers Squibb Building" will be newly established on the main campus of Kyoto University as a research facility with a total floor area of approximately 9,500 m5, 1 floors above ground, 2021 floor below ground, and reinforced concrete. ..Tadao Ando Architectural Institute will also participate in the basic design, and construction is scheduled to begin in XNUMX.As a core facility of the Cancer Immunotherapy Research Center, it will also be used to support young PIs (Principal Investigators) by researchers, faculty members, and companies, and to promote industry-academia collaboration.
Director Tasuku Honjo, who said that he had been associated with BMS researchers for a very long time, including the development of Opdivo, said about this donation, "For me, it is a big milestone of industry-academia collaboration based on mutual trust. I feel that there is. The collaboration between academia and industry in drug development is becoming more significant than ever. The decades-long friendship between BMS and Kyoto University is realized in this way. It is a great pleasure to ignite the fire of hope for future cancer researchers. "
Jean-Christoph Ballan, President and CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Ltd., said, "Under the leadership of Tasuku Honjo, we are able to support Kyoto University's world-leading research in cancer immunotherapy. BMS is working to overcome cancer in Japan and other countries around the world. This donation is an innovative cancer treatment for BMS, a pioneer in cancer immunotherapy. It shows a strong desire for the mission to develop and provide medicines. "
