Cellusion CEO, Dr. Shin Hatou received the METI Minister’s Award at the 23rd Japan Venture Awards
Cellusion Inc. (CEO: Shin Hatou, M.D. Ph.D., “Cellusion”), a deep tech start-up developing iPS cell-derived corneal endothelial cell substitute for the treatment of bullous keratopathy, announced Dr. Shin Hatou received the “Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Minister’s Award” at the 23rd Japan Venture Awards.
The JVA is an award program sponsored by the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, Japan, to honor highly motivated venture business owners who are engaged in businesses that are innovative, have high growth potential, and contribute to solving social issues.
The METI Minister’s Award is given to the most outstanding entrepreneur who can serve as a role model for other companies, based on a comprehensive evaluation of the entrepreneur’s business activities, track record, management qualities, and social reputation.
Dr. Hatou’s advanced iPS cell-based corneal transplant technology, his vision to contribute to corneal blindness patients around the world, and his willingness to take responsibility for risk and challenge were highly praised as a role model for entrepreneurs.
For more information, please visit Japan Venture Awards（JVA）(Japanese only)
[Comment from Cellusion, CEO, Dr. Shin Hatou]
I am very honored to receive this prestigious award.
After graduating from Keio University School of Medicine, I became an ophthalmologist specializing in corneal transplants. Due to a lack of donors and other factors, the number of patients on the waiting list for corneal transplants has accumulated to about 13 million worldwide. To solve this problem, I have been engaged in doctoral research on regenerative medicine for the cornea and studying the possibility of using iPS cells for corneal endothelial regenerative medicine. I decided to start a business to implement this therapy in society and deliver the treatment to patients around the world who cannot receive corneal transplants, and established Cellusion, Inc. in 2015. To date, we have raised 4.5 billion yen, increased the number of members to more than 20, and are all working together to drive forward our R&D activities. Encouraged by this award, I am determined to push forward with further research to provide new treatments to patients awaiting corneal transplants.
[About Cellusion]
Cellusion is a regenerative medicine start-up originating from the Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, with “Regenerating Human Potential” as its mission and “More Freedom and More Smiles to the World” as its vision. Based on patented technology such as its proprietary technique of efficiently producing corneal endothelial substitute cell from iPS cells, Cellusion is promoting R&D aimed at meeting medical needs from the perspective of “patient centricity” by leveraging cutting-edge regenerative medicine technology, including the lead program CLS001 that aims to meet the global corneal transplant demands.
Company: Cellusion Inc.
CEO: Shin Hatou, M.D., Ph.D.
Headquarters: 8-6 Nihonbashi-Kobuna, Chuo, Tokyo 103-0024, JAPAN
Founded: January 2015
URL: https://cellusion.jp/en/
For further information: please ask us through the contact form on our website.
