Award Winners Announced! 10th Bio-Industry Award and Bio-Industry Encouragement Award for 2026

The Japan Bioindustry Association (JBA) is presenting the 'Bio-Industry Award' and 'Bio-Industry Encouragement Award' with the vision of 'Cutting-edge Research Creating the Future: A New Era of Biotechnology.' These awards aim to promote further advancement in the field of biotechnology and the industrialization of research outcomes. By recognizing outstanding achievements, the JBA seeks to enhance public understanding of biotechnology's importance and further stimulate research and development.

For the 10th annual awards in 2026, the '10th Bio-Industry Award' has been awarded to a joint research group from Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., RACTHERA Inc., and Kyoto University—led by Mr. Kenji Yoshida—for their achievement in creating the regenerative medical product 'Amshepli,' derived from allogeneic iPS cell-derived dopaminergic neural progenitor cells.

Additionally, the '10th Bio-Industry Award Special Prize' has been awarded to Dr. Shuko Takeda of the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, for her pioneering work in developing and clinically applying a next-generation dementia diagnostic method using eye-tracking technology, including international expansion.

The 'Bio-Industry Encouragement Award' recognizes promising young researchers engaged in applied research related to bioscience and biotechnology. This year, 12 researchers have been selected as awardees.

The award ceremony and commemorative lecture will be held on Wednesday, October 7, at the Pacifico Yokohama, within the venue of the international biotech event 'BioJapan 2026.'

<Recipients of the Bio-Industry Award>

Awardee

Affiliation and Position

Kenji Yoshida

Head of Business Development, RACTHERA Inc.; Director, Regenerative & Cellular Medicine Promotion Office, Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd.

Toru Kimura

President and CEO, Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd.; Chairman of the Board, S-RACMO Co., Ltd.; Chairman of the Board, RACTHERA Inc.

Ryosuke Takahashi

Affiliate, Comprehensive Research Promotion Division, Kyoto University; Special Professor, Department of Multiple System Therapeutics, Graduate School of Medicine

Jun Takahashi

Professor and Deputy Director, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University

Nobukatsu Sawamoto

Professor, Department of Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University

<Recipient of the Bio-Industry Award Special Prize>

Awardee

Affiliation and Position

Shuko Takeda

Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University; Unit Leader, Dementia Unit, Research Center for Mental Science, Osaka Mental Health Center

<Recipients of the Bio-Industry Encouragement Award (12 awardees)>

Awardee

Affiliation and Position

Takuro Ideguchi

Professor, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo

Noriyuki Uchida

Project Lecturer, Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology

Masashi Oe

Associate Professor, School of Computing, Tokyo University of Science

Mamoru Oshiki

Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University

Naoyuki Kumakura

Senior Researcher, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science

Yutaro Saito

Associate Professor, School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science

Masayuki Sakamoto

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University

Yusuke Sato

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University

Yohei Takahashi

Project Associate Professor, Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University

Shugo Togashi

Professor, Advanced Medical Research Center, Fujita Health University Tokyo

Shogo Nakano

Associate Professor, Faculty of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Shizuoka Prefectural University

Pradipta Ambara

Assistant Professor, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo University of Science

[Press Releases]

◆ Bio-Industry Award and Special Prize

https://www.jba.or.jp/award_release_taisho2026.pdf

◆ Bio-Industry Encouragement Award

https://www.jba.or.jp/award_release_shourei2026.pdf

[Award Promotion Video]

A promotional video showcasing past recipients' achievements and successful industrial applications has been produced. Please watch it.

https://youtu.be/XpT7bJaRroY

[Past Recipients]

Recipients from the 1st to 9th awards are available below.

https://www.jba.or.jp/activity/award/winner/

[Inquiries]

Japan Bioindustry Association, Public Relations Department, Award Secretariat

Sapia Tower 8F, 1-7-12 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan

TEL: 03-6665-7950 (Main) FAX: 03-6665-7955

E-mail: jba.award@jba.or.jp