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For Immediate Release
August 14, 2005

The Economic Alliance Sits down with Takeshi Yamakawa, President and Chief Operating Officer SNBL Clinical Pharmacology Center, Inc.

Economic Alliance: Before joining SNBL, you served a long career with several different branches of the Japanese government. What insights has that career given to you for the pharmaceutical industry?

Takeshi Yamakawa: I have learned from my past direct experiences that government has a role, either in US or in Japan, to come up with a solution, by the means of regulation, tax, subsidiary, guidance, or whatever, to the problems which should not be solved by free market but by democratic system. Because the pharmaceutical industry affects human health and life, which is most important to us, both governments are working hard to come up with a solution which people should think most beneficial and fair to everybody. As part of such industry, SNBL contributes to creating better life and society along with the efforts by the governments.

EA: In 1998, the University of Maryland, Baltimore began forming new partnerships with the Japanese government as well as leading pharmaceutical companies. How did SNBL’s and your involvement with these partnerships lead to SNBL opening the Clinical Pharmacology Center at the UMB BioPark?

TY: I joined SNBL last summer, and since then, I very much appreciate the cooperation and collaboration of UMB given to SNBL CPC, especially from Dr. Ramsay, Dean of UMB, and Mr. Hughes, Vice President of Research and Development. I believe this is due to the long history of our commitment to each other and I will continue and expand this relationship. One of the recent collaborations between SNBL and UMB is holding a FDA regulatory training course for reviewers from the Japanese equivalent of the FDA. In that class, we were able to get valuable experience not only of learning important FDA regulatory matters from prominent UMB professors and FDA reviewers, but also of exchanging thoughts and ideas very frankly with Japanese reviewers, which seldom happens in Japan.

EA: What aspects of Baltimore, the University of Maryland, and the UMB BioPark drew SNBL to your Westside location?

TY: Being located in the campus of UMB will be a great asset for SNBL. The collaboration with the UMB professors and researchers will be beneficial to both parties. In addition, I am excited to be part of Baltimore’s efforts to revitalize the Westside of Baltimore. I am looking forward to working with the communities, the City and the State.

EA: The Clinical Pharmacology Center is only one piece of the entire SNBL pharmaceutical development process. What does this center in Baltimore, as well as the University Medicines International, LLC joint-venture, offer to companies seeking to develop products for world markets?

TY: SNBL is an international full-service CRO with facilities, offices and subsidiaries in Japan, the U.S., Europe, and China. From early phase exploratory drug discovery and safety research through clinical development to regulatory submission and beyond, SNBL provides customized services quickly and efficiently to reduce the time products enter and move through human clinical tests, meet regulatory requirements, and rapidly reach their markets.

EA: The pharmaceutical industry is undergoing a number of changes in the face of escalating costs in drug development—from early stage research to translational work. How is SNBL’s partnership with UMB benefiting your company’s business?

TY: Our collaboration with UMB is our first partnership outside of Japan and the first joint enterprise ever between an American state university and a private Japanese company. The collaboration has already created impacts on drug development both for Japanese and American drug development. I am confident that our new facility in the UMB BioPark will enhance the collaboration and contribute to more effective and efficient drug development.

EA: What are some of your main focuses during this summer while you prepare the Clinical Pharmacology Center for its opening this September?

TY: Building our team will be one of my main focuses. We have been working hard for the last 5 months in searching for candidates to join our team and have started hiring our key directors. Because the phase 1 clinical trial business is booming in the U.S., it has been challenging to have best people come to our company. Our goal is to create the best phase 1 trail unit in the U.S. with state-of-the-art facility and the best professional and management staff that will provide the highest possible quality services for pharmaceutical and biotech companies.