EISAI COMPLETES A MAJOR RENOVATION OF TSUKUBA RESEARCH LABORATORIES

AS A GLOBAL DRUG DISCOVERY CENTER AIMING FOR CONNECTING HUMAN AND HUMAN, AND DATA, AND THE WORLD

Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, CEO: Haruo Naito, “Eisai”) today announced the completion of a major renovation of its Tsukuba Research Laboratories (Ibaraki, Japan), which is a part of strategic investment to execute Eisai’s medium-term business plan “EWAY Future & Beyond”.

 

Eisai implements research and development activities under the DHBL (Deep Human Biology Learning) drug discovery and development system in our efforts to create new drugs based on innovative and efficient next-generation drug discovery concepts. For this purpose, we recognize diseases as Disease Continuum to redefine their concepts through comprehensive analysis on genomic, pathophysiological and clinical information associated with underlying causes of disease in order to enhance our understanding on human biology by acquiring data leading to next drug discovery with information, such as biomarkers and imaging data from patients on our drugs. Tsukuba Research Laboratories is positioned as a core facility in the DHBL drug discovery and development system. This renovation seeks to accelerate knowledge circulation by connecting each researcher with patients, other members within the Laboratories, other research sites across the world, and external researchers based on our key concept “Human Connected Laboratories: Laboratories Connecting Human and Human, and Data, and the World.” Total investment on this major renovation was 8.5 billion yen.

 

Main Idea of This Major Renovation

[Designs to Enhancing Connection with Patients]

In the Eisai Group, all employees around the world use 1% of their total business hours to interact with patients (socialization) to understand their thoughts and feelings. Accordingly, we have been working on the initiatives (hhc activities) to lead value creation for patients. To enhance the opportunities for closer interaction with people outside the company, such as further socialization with patients, at Tsukuba Research Laboratories, a traffic line from the front gate through the main building lobby to the courtyard is placed as interactive zone to enable various communications.

 

[Realizing Connections between Researchers and Data Driven Drug Discovery]

In favor of generating natural communication between researchers across different therapeutic areas on a daily basis, workspaces for biology researchers and data scientists are allocated on the same floor, and likewise workspaces for chemistry and pharmacokinetics/analytical researchers are placed on nearby floors to foster new connections and knowledge exchange. Further creative solutions are implemented in laboratories, including collective arrangement of structural openings and devices. These designs facilitate data driven drug discovery through knowledge exchange.

 

[Knowledge Circulation Generated from Links between Buildings]

Corridors linking multiple buildings embodying the concept of Knowledge Circulation are placed. A traffic line named “Knowledge Corridor” enables people to move all around the laboratory, with which research efficiency and convenience are considerably improved.

 

[Meeting Rooms Value Connection with the World]

Each meeting room is equipped with an IT environment that allows smooth communication with overseas offices, as well as systems able to deal with hybrid meeting which dominantly accepted in recent days.

 

Eisai will accelerate the drug discovery activities under the DHBL drug discovery system in order to fulfill unmet medical needs, and in our efforts to further contribute to improve the benefits of patients and the people in the daily living domain.

 

Media Inquiries:

Public Relations Department,

Eisai Co., Ltd.

+81-(0)3-3817-5120

[Notes to editors]

1. Outline of Tsukuba Research Laboratories

Location: 5-1-3 Tokodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki

Groundbreaking of the renovation: December 2019

Completion of the renovation: February 2023 (Opening Ceremony: 6 April 2023)

Site area: 86,845.05 m2

Building area: 65,110.78 m2

Total investment on the renovation: 8.5 billion yen

 

An interactive zone for researchers and people outside company

 

A traffic line named “Knowledge Corridor”

 

A workplace for data scientists