One day while working from home as a self-employed consultant, I suddenly realized, “As a working person, I was really just like anyone else.” “Maybe I wasted my life?” Did I really test my potential? “Is there any way to give back to society what I have experienced?” It was just before my 60th birthday and I started working toward starting a business, which eventually led to the founding of EVA Therapeutics, Inc. in 2021. I realized once again that it is important for people to “think”.
After graduating from Osaka University of Foreign Studies with a degree in English in 1981, I joined Fujisawa Pharmaceutical (now Astellas Pharma Inc.). For 27 years, I was consistently in charge of business development in North America, and was involved in the establishment of a joint venture and corporate M&As. After a total of 11 years in North America, including a 5 years’ tenure as president of a Canadian subsidiary, I left them and subsequently served as Japan Managing Directors of Global biotech ventures, and since 2016, I have made my living as a self-employed pharmaceutical business development consultant.
I was fortunate to be involved in multiple venture and academia projects. By having the opportunity to work directly with various drug development experts, I was able to position myself as a professional who can manage the entire drug value chain from research and development to commercial production and sales. Although my liberal arts background did not allow me to become a specialist in a particular function, I was able to fill in the gaps between functions, and as a result, I have come to play the role of a general producer who holds everything together.
EVA Therapeutics is a venture company from Tokyo Medical and Dental University that implements “Enteral Ventilation” technology, which can transfer oxygen in blood stream through the intestines of patients with respiratory failure. While involved in various biotech projects originating in Japan, I became acquainted with Professor Takanori Takebe of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, who is well known for his work in liver organoids using iPS cells. The originality and feasibility of this technology, not like any other scientific approach, appealed to me, and I decided to take on this challenge. As expected, I am having a hard time every day, but it is very stimulating to work with a young, brilliant scientist. I am having a lot of fun while worrying about what to do next.
It was an unexpected life commemoration for me to receive a certificate from Takayuki Kobayashi, Minister of Science and Technology Policy for winning the Japan Open Innovation Award for our work on Enteral Ventilation Technology last February. I also feel a connection that Professor Takebe started his co-professorship at Osaka University School of Medicine from January 2023.
I would like to tell all the young (and self-proclaimed) people reading this article that anyone can take on the challenges of starting a business if they have passion, optimism, and a never-give-up mentality. However, time never comes back, so if you start a business in your mid-60s like I did, the time you have left is up to God and luck. If you have a dream that you want to achieve, please start now. However, how much risks you are willing to accept is up to you, as it is a matter of your own life plan.
私のキャリアレポート「60歳での起業は遅くない」
大阪大学外国語学部の同窓会紙「咲耶」34号Page 8に代表尾﨑拡の記事が掲載されました。
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