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Researcher At Heart: Toichi Takenaka's Journey From 'Empty Lab' To CEO

Ex-Astellas Chief Sees R&D Funding As Challenge

 
• By Lisa Takagi

Dr Toichi Takenaka, the first winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award in the inaugural Pharma Intelligence Awards Japan earlier this year, talks to Scrip about his journey from researcher to CEO and today as a mentor for Japanese bioventures. Starting his career in an “empty lab” in the 1960s motivated him to pursue a string of collaborations with universities in Japan and on to the discovery of four successful drugs.

Takenaka giving a speech after receiving Lifetime Achievement Award at Pharma Intelligence Awards Japan 2022
TAKENAKA ACCEPTS THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT THE PHARMA INTELLIGENCE AWARDS JAPAN 2022 • Source: Lisa Takagi

For many struggling researchers-turned-CEOs of Japanese bioventures, 81-year-old Dr Toichi Takenaka has been a mentor to whom they can make a phone call for any advice.

After a string of successful drug discoveries working at Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical in the 1980s, Takenaka’s name became widely known as...

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