Academics and startups lead trade mission to Japan to spur collaboration

BioJapan was held in Yokohama

Life sciences academics and Imperial start-ups led a delegation to Japan to spur further research collaboration.

They were joined at a number of events, including the annual biotech partnering conference, BioJapan, in Yokohama, by academics from other institutions and industry leaders.

The visit provided a platform for the Imperial scientists and start-ups to build international networks and create long-lasting partnerships.

The delegation included Dr Paul Bentley, co-founder of Imperial spin-out gripAble™, who has developed a device to help stroke patients regain arm function and Dr Jia Li who is researching dietary interventions in gastrointestinal diseases.

Student start-up Mitt, who are building and provide comfortable, functional and affordable prosthetic upper limbs, also took part in the trip.

Rebecca Wilson, Head of Corporate Partnerships, Imperial College London, said: “This trade mission is an important event in Imperial’s calendar.

“There are enormous benefits to being able to touch base face-to-face with existing partners and introduce our world-class research in areas such as antimicrobial resistance, regenerative medicine and drug discovery to new global audiences.

“Collaborating across borders is a key component of our strategy to accelerate technology transfer.

“We look forward to further deepening our relationship with Japanese companies and institutions, which already includes over 1,000 publications co-authored with Japanese academics and individual industrial relationships that span over three decades.”

Japanese connections

Imperial collaborates with a range of Japanese higher education institutions including the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Osaka University and RIKEN, as well as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Japan Science & Technology Agency (JST).
Imperial researchers have co-authored more than 1,000 publications with their Japanese peers over the past five years.

The trade mission was coordinated by MedCity - which launched at Imperial in 2013 - and the Northern Health Science Alliance.