On December 26 (Fri.) and 27 (Sat.), the first intensive session of the NQ Version COO Human Resources Development Program was held at Qrossover Lounge Yume on the 2nd floor of Nakanoshima Qross.
This program is part of the "NQ Global Startup Gateway (Nakanoshima Qross Global Startup Creation and Base Promotion Project)" sponsored by the Osaka Prefectural Government. This program is based on the "COO (Chief Operating Officer) Human Resource Development Program" conducted by 82VS Venture Studios of Alloy Therapeutics for startups in the U.S., and is being implemented as the "Nakanoshima Qross Version COO Human Resource Development Program" for startups in Japan. The program is based on the "COO (Chief Operating Officer) Human Resource Development Program" for U.S. start-ups.
Twenty people from diverse backgrounds, including startups, business companies, venture capitalists, and support organizations, have been selected to participate in this program.
In this intensive session, participants deepened their learning about the perspectives and practical skills required of COO personnel through lectures and dialogues over two days.
Day1: Friday, December 26
First, Mr. Katsuya Ishitani (Assistant Director, Life Science Industry Division, Growth Industry Promotion Office, Commerce, Industry and Labor Department, Osaka Prefectural Government) explained the purpose of the NQ version of the COO human resource development program and Osaka Prefecture's approach to start-up support. He also expressed his hope that this program will expand the base of startup participation and create unicorn-level startups in the future.
Then, Mr. Yoshihide Ishii (President, Alloy Therapeutics K.K.) gave a lecture, which included group work, on the concept of the early stage of business launch in drug discovery startups and the roles required of COO personnel. He emphasized the importance of business design based on the ecosystem and TPP (Target Product Profile), and provided direction for the program's learning themes.
At the beginning of the afternoon, Mr. Yoshiki Sawa (President, Future Medical Care Organization) gave a speech on the concept of human resource development at Nakanoshima Qross and his expectations for the program.
Next, Ms. Tomoko Maeda (Director, Drug Discovery Research Alliances, Kobe Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim / Venture Partner, Synapto Ventures) took the stage to speak on the topic of ”How to Develop a Target Product Profile:” She emphasized that TPPs are not created once and then finished, but should be continuously refined based on discussions with external parties and the accumulation of data.
After that, Mr. Taku Seriu (President, Seriu Medical Consulting Co., Ltd. / Senior Advisor, APCER Life Sciences / Representative Director, Japan Pharmaceutical Development Capability Promotion Organization) gave a lecture titled "How to Develop Standard Therapies: Aiming for Drug Development that does not Goal of Approval". He indicated that the value of a drug should not only be evaluated in terms of sales and other economic factors, but also in terms of efficacy, safety, convenience, quality of life (QOL), and reduction of the burden on the medical community and patients.
Mr. Yoshitsugu Shitaka (President, RealizeEdge Partners, Inc.) gave a presentation on "How to Grow Drug Discovery Business: The Startup Studio R-Edge Approach. In order to advance drug discovery to social implementation, he introduced the importance of linking the three elements of capital structure, execution system, and a mechanism to nurture human resources and judgment, as well as the concept of R-Edge as an approach to realize these three elements.
In the panel discussion, moderated by Yoshihide Ishii, Tomoko Maeda, Taku Serio, and Yoshitsugu Shitaka discussed the essence of TPP (Target Product Profile) in drug discovery and the perspectives required of COO personnel. The importance of the COO's role in designing the TPP and leading the dialogue as a "discussion leader" was shared.
The first day concluded with an exchange of business cards and a dinner session. Lively exchanges of opinions took place among the speakers and adopters, creating exchanges that transcended fields and positions.
Day2: Saturday, December 27
On the second day, the workshop started with a review of the first day and then focused on the theme of "how to compete in a team. Self-understanding, mutual understanding, and team building using Working Genius were conducted, and the importance of the attitude required of COOs to produce results in a team was shared.
In the latter half of the session, the theme of therapeutic targets/modalities presented the issues to be addressed by the team, including therapeutic hypotheses, existing drugs, and unresolved issues.
Toward the end of the session, participants had time to verbalize and share their findings and psychological hurdles with each other through pair interviews.
This intensive session was a great starting point for learning about the realities of drug discovery ventures and the importance of the COO role, as well as for running through the nine weeks with your peers.