Management team

Representative Director, President, CEO and CSO

Masanori Watanabe

Masanori Watanabe has led numerous projects with wide and abundant experience in nonclinical studies including target hunting and identification. His strengths lie in R&D experience with a wide range of modalities.
He holds an MSc in Medical Science from the University of Tsukuba.

Executive Director, CBO, Business Development and Corporate Operation Head

Kenichi Anai

Kenichi Anai has strengths in global licensing and alliance management, including opportunity search and evaluation, contract negotiation as well as management of partnerships.
MSc in Agricultural and Life Sciences from the University of Tokyo.
He holds an MSc in Agricultural and Life Sciences from the University of Tokyo.

Deputy Head, Drug Discovery Laboratories

Yusuke Moritoh

Yusuke Moritoh has consistently engaged in R&D of drug discovery. Wide experience and strengths in drug target identification, MoA* analysis, pharmacology, IND* applications, publication and conference presentations.
He holds an MSc and PhD in Medical Science from Osaka University.

*MoA: Mode of Action
*IND: Investigational New Drug

Synthetic Chemistry Laboratory Head,Drug Discovery Laboratories

Shigemitsu Matsumoto

Shigemitsu Matsumoto has been involved in medicinal chemistry research in the areas of oncology, central nervous system disease, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disease. He has experience in conducting research at a US pharmaceutical company and in the management of the overseas CRO.
He has made a contribution to the creation of clinical trial compound and our Preclinical Compound (SCO-116). His strengths include good communication skills, drug design, and organic synthetic chemistry.
He holds an MSc and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Tohoku University. Pharmacist.

Biology Laboratory Head,Drug Discovery Laboratories

Jun Sugama

Jun Sugama has been engaged in preclinical research in the areas of cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disease, and metabolic disease. He has contributed to the development and progress of multiple clinical products. He has experience in a wide range of operations owing to his drug discovery knowledge. In addition, he actively conducts pharmacology research.
He holds an MSc and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Tohoku University. Pharmacist.

Peptide and Biologics Laboratory Head,Drug Discovery Laboratories

Ayumu Niida

Ayumu Niida has over 15 years of experience in peptide drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. He has led several peptide drug projects mainly in the area of metabolic disease. He has contributed to the discovery of our clinical compound (SCO-094). He has strengths in peptide synthetic chemistry, peptide structure-activity relationship study, control of peptide physicochemical property and conjugate chemistry.
He holds an MSc and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Kyoto University. Pharmacist.

Clinical Development and BD Director,Business Development and Corporate Operation

Harunobu Nishizaki

After starting his career as a medical rep, Harunobu Nishizaki shifted his expertise to clinical development and medical affairs, and experienced multiple global leadership roles in multinational clinical trials and medical affairs at local and multinational pharmaceutical companies. Leveraging his broad knowledge in early to late stage clinical development, regulatory filing and pre-/post-marketing medical affairs, he plays a key role in clinical development as well as business development.
He holds bachelor degree in Agriculture from the Meiji University.

Steven R. Smith, M.D.

Chief Scientific Officer/SVP, Florida Hospital Research Service
Scientific Director, Translational Institute for Metabolism & Diabetes
Past President of The Obesity Society

Randy J. Seeley, Ph.D.

H.K. Ransom Professor of Surgery, Internal Medicine and Nutritional Sciences
University of Michigan
Director, Michigan Nutrition Obesity Research Center (MNORC)

Seigo Izumo, M.D.

Former Senior Vice President & Global Head, Regenerative Medicine Unit, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.
Former Vice President & Global Head of Cardiovascular Disease Area, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, USA
Former Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA