The Kyoto Innovation Center for Next Generation Clinical Trials and iPS Cell Therapy (Ki-CONNECT) (Department of Early Clinical Development) was initiated in April 2020.
The number of “curable” diseases has increased with the development of molecular biology and elucidation of many biological phenomena. On the other hand, there are still many diseases for which the cause is unknown, there is no cure, or cure is difficult and long-term medical treatment is required.
It is thought that translational research aimed at converting basic research into clinical studies and research using earlier human study data are important for examining new medicines and treatments and proving their effectiveness in clinical studies efficiently. However, there is actually no platform in the world on which new drugs are created efficiently and continuously based on such research results.
We would like to build an early clinical development platform that can be constantly planned and implemented very early in exploratory clinical studies aiming for cure of cancer and intractable diseases by utilizing our experience in conducting many clinical studies, preclinical studies, and translational research on cancer.
Fortunately, there are many world-class researchers in Kyoto University. There is no doubt that the results will be strongly advantageous in early clinical development.
We believe our existence value is in adding scientific creativity to early clinical development through collaboration with on-campus laboratories such as CiRA (Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University) and the Clinical BioResource Center.
Regarding early clinical development, an important clinical ability is to deal with any adverse event or any disease area. In addition, holistic care is required, necessitating caretakers to be close to patients suffering from cancer and intractable diseases.
We will develop doctors who can practice clinical development with strong collaboration across clinical department and occupations of Kyoto University Hospital, in adherence to the policy of “All for the patient.” We will make every effort to give faster and greater hope to as many patients as possible.

Kyoto Innovation Center for Next Generation Clinical Trials and
iPS Cell Therapy(Ki-CONNECT) Professor

Takako　Nakajima