Announcement of New Chief Technology Officer (CTO): Pro. Yoshiki Sawa
- 2021/09/03
- release
Tokyo, Japan (August 13, 2021) – CUORiPS Inc. (HQ: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Takayuki Kusanagi) is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Yoshiki Sawa (Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Division of Health Sciences, Future Medical Science) as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), effective August 13, 2021.
Under the new organization with Pro. Yoshiki Sawa, we will further accelerate the commercialization of First-In-Human allogeneic iPS cell-derived cardiomyocyte cell sheets with Osaka University and the creation of innovative cell therapy products for Heart Failure by promoting our R&D with diverse partners.
| Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Sawa | |
| 1980 | Graduated from Osaka University Medical School and received MD |
| 1987 | Received a PhD from Osaka University Medical School |
| 1989 | Research and clinical fellow at Max-Planck Institute in Germany supported by Humboldt Scholarship (~1991) |
| 1992 | Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Osaka University Medical School |
| 1998 | Associate Professor, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Osaka University Medical School |
| 2002 | Associate Professor, Medical Center for Translational Research in Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine |
| 2004 | Chief surgeon, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery |
| 2006 | Professor and Chief, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery Director, Medical Center for Translational Research in Osaka University Hospital (~Mar. 2010) |
| 2010 | Director, Center for Medical, Engineering, and Information in Osaka University (~Mar. 2015) |
| 2013 | Vice Dean, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine (~Mar. 2015) Director, Center for Global Health in Osaka University Hospital (~Mar. 2015) |
| 2014 | Adviser, CiRA(Center for iPS cell Research and Application) Kyoto University |
| 2015 | Dean, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine (~Mar. 2017) President, Japanese Society of Regenerative Medicine (~Mar. 2021) |
| 2016 | Congress Chairman, Japanese Surgical Society |
| 2018 | Congress Chairman, The Japanese Circulation Society |
| 2018 | Congress Chairman, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society World Congress |
| 2019 | President of Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery (~Present) |
| 2020 | Council member, Science Council of Japan |
| 2021 | Professor, Division of Health Sciences, Future Medical Science, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine |
| Awards & Honors: l Humboldt Scholarship l Terumo Foundation Grant l METI Grant l Japan Biomaterial Association Award l Scientific Technology Award sponsored by Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology l Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Emperor of Japan |
| President and CEO | Takayuki Kusanagi |
| COO | Manabu Inoue |
| Director of the Board and CTO | Yoshiki Sawa |
| Director of the Board and CFO | Taichi Kobayashi |
| External Board Member | Tetsuya Ohira |
| External Board Member | Ryohei Shimazaki |
CUORiPS Inc. is a start-up company, established in March 2017, based on technology and research results of Osaka University, for the development and commercialization of iPS cell-derived cardiomyocyte sheets.
CUORiPS is developing production process technology of iPS cell-derived cardiomyocyte sheets to increase efficiency, and to obtain Japanese government approval as the world’s 1st regenerative medicine for severe heart failures.
An allogeneic cell therapeutic product mainly composed of cardiomyocytes (iPS myocardium), differentiated from human iPS cells is processed into a sheet and will be transplanted onto the surface of the patient’s heart. Therapeutic effects such as improvement of heart function and recovery of heart failure can be expected to the patients with severe heart failure such have no treatment options.