Metagen Therapeutics Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture; Representative Director and CEO: Taku Nakahara) will exhibit a booth at the "WORLD IBD DAY 2026 Light-Up Event IN JAPAN (https://world-ibd-day0519-event.site/)" in Tokyo on May 17, 2026, with the aim of promoting "stool donation." In addition, Shinji Fukuda, the company's Chief Scientific Advisor and Specially Appointed Professor at Keio University Institute for Advanced Biosciences, will give a lecture at the event on the theme of "Latest Gut Science! The World of Brown Jewels® You Don't Know."
The WORLD IBD DAY 2026 Light-Up Event IN JAPAN is an awareness event organized by the General Incorporated Association "Road to Health" (Representative Director: Taisei Koshiba), aimed at promoting understanding of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
IBD is a general term for "Ulcerative Colitis" and "Crohn's Disease," which are diseases characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa, primarily in the intestines. It is said that there are approximately 413,000* patients in Japan, and it is known to frequently develop in people in their teens and twenties**. Patients experience various symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever, which affect their daily and social lives.
"Stool donation" is a new social contribution initiative in which healthy individuals provide their own stool for the development of new therapies utilizing gut bacteria. Metagen Therapeutics is developing new medical technologies and drugs that utilize gut bacteria, and in April 2025, they opened "Tsuruoka Stool Donation Room" in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, the first stool donation facility in Japan. In Tokyo, they are also recruiting stool donations in collaboration with Juntendo University for the purpose of utilizing medical technology in clinical research.
This time, we will exhibit and speak at the event with the aim of informing people about "stool donation" as a new social contribution activity and the latest information on gut bacteria.
Metagen Therapeutics supports and sponsors this event, which aims to visualize the "invisible difficulties" faced by patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease and their families, and to expand the circle of understanding and support.
"WORLD IBD DAY 2026 Light-Up Event IN JAPAN Tokyo" Event Outline
Date: Sunday, May 17, 2026, 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Venue: Event space in front of Tokyo Tower main entrance, TOKYO TOWER FOOT TOWN B1F Town Hall, etc.
Organizer: General Incorporated Association "Road to Health"
Co-organizer: Japanese Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Official Website: https://world-ibd-day0519-event.site/
<Program (excerpt of our speaking time only)>
●TALK SHOW Latest Nutrition Science × Latest Gut Science
Date: Sunday, May 17, 2026, 3:10 PM - 3:55 PM
Venue: Stage in front of Tokyo Tower main entrance event space
SHOW①: "Latest Nutrition Science! Food and Health Deciphered by Latest Science"
Takuro Miyazaki, Representative Director / Registered Dietitian (USA), Gootte Co., Ltd.
SHOW②: "Latest Gut Science! The World of Brown Jewels® You Don't Know"
Shinji Fukuda, Chief Scientific Advisor, Metagen Therapeutics Co., Ltd. / Specially Appointed Professor, Keio University Institute for Advanced Biosciences
Please check the following page for the entire program of the event in Tokyo.
https://world-ibd-day0519-event.site/guests/
About Metagen Therapeutics Co., Ltd. Metagen Therapeutics Co., Ltd. aims to "continuously fulfill patients' wishes through microbiome science" and is a venture company originating from Juntendo University, Keio University, and Tokyo Institute of Technology, creating social impact through medical and drug discovery businesses based on gut microbiota research.
<Company Profile>
Company Name: Metagen Therapeutics Co., Ltd. (Abbreviation: MGTx)
Headquarters: 246-2 Kakuganji, Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture
Tokyo Office: Otemachi Building 6F Inspired Lab, 1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Taku Nakahara, Representative Director and CEO
Established: January 17, 2020
Business Activities: Drug discovery and medical business utilizing microbiome science
URL: https://www.metagentx.com
Source:
*Toho University "Number of patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease increased 1.4 times in 8 years: Latest prevalence estimate from the 2023 national epidemiological survey" (2025.9.19)
**Intractable Diseases Information Center, Ulcerative Colitis, https://www.nanbyou.or.jp/entry/62
Intractable Diseases Information Center, Crohn's Disease, https://www.nanbyou.or.jp/entry/81
FACT BOX
- Source: PR TIMES
- Category: Event