新年おめでとうございます。昨年はコロナ一色の一年でした。私も皆さまと同様に可能な限り感染予防をしながら、日常を維持する事に努めて参りました。
今年は丑年、牛は昔から食料としてだけでなく、農作業や物を運ぶときの労働力として、人間の生活に欠かせない動物でした。勤勉によく働く姿が「誠実さ」を象徴し、身近にいる縁起の良い動物として十二支に加えられたとの由。コロナ禍の中、我々一般人は、目の前の仕事を誠実にコツコツと行う事が大切だと、改めて思い至ります。
私が関わっているベンチャー企業は今コロナワクチンの開発を行っています。コロナワクチンの研究はほぼ同時に始めましたが、現状GMP製造の初期段階にあります。開発スピードを上げる為には人的リソースと潤沢な資金が不可欠と言えますが、そのどちらも不足している企業は、コツコツと進めて行くしかありません。一方、ファイザー、アストラゼネカ等の大企業は圧倒的な資金力を使ってタイムラインを大幅に縮小し、一気に承認まで漕ぎつけました。
多くの人が企業の中で安定した生活を求める中、新たな発明を夢見ている一握りの優秀な人材が、資金の壁に阻まれて、挑戦の機会を得る事さえなかなか難しいのが現実です。日本には潤沢な個人資産、企業の内部留保があるのだが、そのごくごく一部の資金が利用出来れば、挑戦権を得る事が出来るというのに。
Happy New Year! 2020 was so unusual for all of us. SARS-CoV-2 has affected our daily life quite a bit. With the arrival of vaccines, I do hope that we will recover our daily routine and the global economy will be revitalized immediately.
This year is the year of the ox. The ox has long been an indispensable animal for human life not only as food but also as a labor force for farming and carrying things. The diligent and hard-working figure symbolizes “honesty” and is said to have been added to the Zodiac as an auspicious animal close to us. In the midst of the corona pandemic, we, the general public, realize once again that it is important to conduct every task in front of us diligently and in good faith.
A Bio Venture Company that I’m involved in, is currently developing a Covid-19 vaccine. Its research actually began at about the same time with other companies, but the project is currently still in the early stages of GMP production. Abundant human resources and funds are indispensable for speeding up development, but companies that lack both of them have no choice but to proceed steadily. On the other hand, large companies such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca used their overwhelming financial power to drastically reduce the timeline and reached approval stage so rapidly.
While many people seek a stable life at a large and stable organization, the reality is that a handful of talented people dreaming of new inventions will face difficulties to even get an opportunity to participate in a qualifier because of financial barriers. Japan has abundant personal assets and significant retained earnings of various corporations. If only a small part of it can be used for such innovation, it is all possible to obtain the right to challenge a race of innovation..
