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KyushuA major actor in theJapanese Biotech sector

IT & IP Strategy Advisory Group SAref. 06.fkabio

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1. Japan and the Biotech sector

Japan has one of the world‘s most competitive bio-industries, leading both the U.S. and Europe in pharmacogenomics, protein engineering, glyco-engineering, tissue engineering, bio-informatics, genome medicine and preventive medicine.

Substantial resources are dedicated to developing universities and R&D facilities, increasing bio-venture startups, growing clusters and developing human resources, all with the goal of making Japan one of the world‘s most advanced biotechnology regions.

Bio-venture startups represent collaboration between industry and universities. During the last decade, such collaboration has intensified and has helped creating university-launched venture firms. This development is a good indication of the growth of the biotech business in Japan.

As Japan’s population ages more rapidly than that of any other developed country, the medical care and welfare markets are expected to expand significantly. New fields are growing that include preventive medicine as well as nursing care services with emphasis on the prevention of age-related diseases. Novel drugs and medical devices, including biopharmaceuticals and nanomedicines are being researched and developed.

OitaSaga

Miyazaki

Kagoshima

NagasakiKumamoto

Fukuoka City

Kitakyushu

KyushuFast facts............................................................Kyushu has an area of 42,180 km2, accounting for 11.2% of Japan’s total area, and a population of 13.320 million people, 10.4% of Japan’s total population.

The gross regional product of Kyushu in FY2007 was 394.2 billion U.S. dollars, which accounted for 8.7% of Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Comparing the gross regional product of Kyushu with the GDP of countries throughout the world, Kyushu’s was almost the same as Switzerland in 2007.

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2. The region of Kyushu

The region of Kyushu (Western Japan) accounts for 11.2% of Japan’s total area and 10.4% of Japan’s total population. The gross regional product of Kyushu in FY2007 was 394.2 billion U.S. dollars (8.7% of Japan’s GDP). At the world level, Kyushu’s was more than Norway’s GDP, which ranked the 23th in the world, and almost on par with Switzerland (21st).

Kyushu has 10 airports with international and domestic flights and 27 major cargo ports that have sustained the efforts of the region to reach out to international markets in the industrial sector and build ties with East Asian nations.

Today, Kyushu is home to booming industries in high-tech sectors such as semi-conductors, nanotechnologies, medical and health-related services and products, environmental technologies and biotechnologies. Over the last decade, biotech has become one of the region’s main research and development sectors, with a special focus on pharmaceutical and preclinical research (with 33 major Japanese companies), as well as functional food-related research (with 51 major Japanese companies).

Indeed, Kyushu enjoys a mild climate and rich nature. The agricultural and fisheries industries have long flourished there. The “Kyushu Bio Cluster Project”, focusing on functional, healthy foods and the biotechnology industry that supports them, has thus been promoting the creation of new business through research and development.

The Kyushu Bio-cluster is one of the seven major clusters in Japan today.

A huge market with a population of about 1 billion has formed in the area within a radius of 2,000 km from Fukuoka City.

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3. Focus on Fukuoka Prefecture

Fukuoka, the largest city in Kyushu, is home to many major companies and organizations. Its international airport with connections to 23 domestic and 18 overseas cities bring close East Asian cities such as Busan (55 min flight), Seoul (1h20), Shanghai (1h30) and Beijing (4h10). This proximity to other Asian cities facilitates international business expansion from Fukuoka which is today known as Japan’s “Gateway to Asia”.

The Fukuoka prefecture’s GDP in 2006 was 164 billion U.S. dollars, close to that of Portugal, or Hong Kong. 2.3 million people live and work in the Greater Fukuoka area. It enjoys an advanced industrial infrastructure and is known for its innovation capacity. In 2008, thanks to its lifestyle and quality of life, it was elected one the world’s best cities to live in (17th out of 25) by Monocle, a UK magazine.

Renowned Japanese companies located there include notably Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi, NEC, Fujitsu, Matsushita Electric, Mitsubishi Electric, Nissan Motor, Toyota Motor. About 450 foreign-owned companies run business operations in the Greater Fukuoka area. Recent years have witnessed an increase in firms coming from China, South Korea, India and other Asian nations. A high number of companies running operations there are related to priority industry projects promoted by the prefectural authorities, which include biotech.

On the academic side, Fukuoka Prefecture is home to 39 universities (12 of them offering science and technology departments), providing outstanding programs that attract top-level students from within Japan.

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3. Focus on Fukuoka Prefecture Since the 1980s, technology parks have provided venues for collaboration between business and the region’s universities, while strengthening economic links to Korean firms and research clusters and empowering a range of local economic development actions.

Fukuoka universities are training specialists in biotechnology statistics and providing support for companies through the expert advice of patent and pharmaceutical development advisors. Thus, Fukuoka offers an optimal base for doing pharmaceutical business in Asia and has become a center for advanced cancer research.

A key government-academia-industry R & D initiative in Fukuoka Prefecture is the “Fukuoka Bio-Valley Project”, which aims to create and attract new industries with center-of-excellence in biotechnology. It is being promoted in the southern part of Fukuoka Prefecture, around Kurume city, with the goal of creating new industries rooted in biotechnology and attracting a cluster of related companies and research centers.

The “Fukuoka Bio Incubation Center” has also been established in Kurume City to serve as the core site to support bio venture businesses in transition from trial manufacturing to the manufacturing stage. The center offers rental laboratories for bio venture businesses to put their research achievements into practical use through trial manufacturing and actual production.

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IT & IP Strategy Advisory Group SA

Project Director Joëlle Sambuc Bloise, PhD in lawTel : + 81 (0)92 716-7626Fax : + 81 (0)92 791-5156Email : jsbloise@itip.ch

Member of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in JapanMember of OSEC Pool of expertsMember of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Japan