Searching for a Model Ecosystem in Belgium | From Japan to Belgium: A Biotech Field Report Series

“In September 2023, I became one of the first Asians to enroll in a programme established by the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management in Belgium in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry to foster entrepreneurship, including biotech startups. Why am I here, having no ties to Brussels? In this first instalment, I would like to look back on my own career and tell you the main purpose of this column.

As a doctor, I had a successful career, practising not only in urban areas of Japan, but also in medically underpopulated areas of Japan, the United States, and Vietnam, and steadily accumulating research papers on cornea, my field of expertise. There were many moments of great satisfaction for me as a doctor, such as when patients and their families thanked me from the bottom of their hearts for doing what I took for granted.

Nevertheless, in this era of unpredictability, known as the "100-year life" era or VUCA, I always had vague doubts and a sense of crisis in my mind about staying in a comfortable environment.

About four and a half years ago, I was transferred to the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), where I experienced a great deal of consultation work related to the development of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, as well as review work for products that had completed clinical trials. Six months into my work, an unknown infectious disease broke out in Wuhan, China, and quickly spread throughout the world.

In the COVID-19 pandemic, various measures to prevent the spread of infection and the tireless efforts of medical personnel in the field saved many people. However, I personally believe that vaccines and antiviral drugs ultimately saved the most lives.

Many of the innovative drugs and medical devices that I have seen during my three years at PMDA are of foreign origin, with only a few products of Japanese origin.

About a year ago, I had the opportunity to learn about translational research, healthcare policy, R&D, and regulation in the U.S. as a member of the eighth cohort of the Mansfield-PhRMA Researchers Programme link.

This is my first time abroad since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, I visited government agencies, regulatory authorities, research institutes, patient groups, and pharmaceutical companies and had various discussions, which made me realize the differences between Japan and the United States.

At the same time, I felt a strong sense of crisis that Japan would be left behind in the world. After returning to Japan, my supervisor at the university hospital handed me a lengthy paper on the life science ecosystem. There, I learned for the first time that Belgium, in the heart of Europe, has been investing in science and human resources with a unique approach since 2000 and that the pharmaceutical industry has been steadily developing (Reference: Development Bank of Japan's "Economic and Management Research" Vol. 44, No. 1).

The Belgian case could serve as a model for Japan, I thought. About five months ago, I decided to reset my life and career as a doctor in Japan and go to Brussels.”