Tokyo, Japan and Cambridge, UK, 5 January 2024 – Sosei Group Corporation (“Sosei Heptares” or “the Company”; TSE: 4565) today announces the appointment of Mr. Toshihiro Maeda as Chief Operating Officer (“COO”). Mr. Maeda joins from Bristol Myers Squibb (“BMS”), where he led a Business Unit and was instrumental in the post-merger integration of Celgene’s businesses and commercial strategies for the combined group in Japan.
Mr. Maeda brings with him a breadth of global management and commercialization experience and a strong background rooted in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to BMS, he worked at Merck & Co in both Japan and the US where he held senior partnering and commercialization roles in its oncology and diabetes business units. He also worked at McKinsey and Company in Japan and the UK where he gained global business experience in healthcare industry. Mr. Maeda holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in the US.
In this newly created role at Sosei Heptares, Mr. Maeda will lead the post-acquisition integration of Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Japan (“IPJ”), and global technical operations, including manufacturing, supply chain and quality assurance, for the enlarged business in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.
Chris Cargill, CEO and President of Sosei Heptares, commented: “I’m delighted to welcome Toshihiro to the team here at Sosei Heptares. His extensive experience in global pharma will be invaluable to us as we continue the integration of IPJ and its APAC business. This key appointment signifies our dedication to growing our Japan pharma business, to allow us to develop and deliver more medicines to patients in need in this large and rapidly growing market.”
Toshihiro Maeda, COO of Sosei Heptares, added: “Sosei Heptares has positioned itself to be an emerging leader in the Japanese biopharma sector with a large and diverse pipeline of wholly owned and partnered drug candidates at all stages of development, targeting diseases with significant medical need. I am truly excited to be joining the Company at such an important time, not just as we continue to build on this strong foundation to drive growth and new opportunities for the business in Japan and globally, but also to highlight the global competitiveness and attractions of the Japanese biopharma industry.”
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About Sosei Heptares
Sosei Heptares is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing life-changing medicines based on world-class science to patients globally. Our vision is to become one of Japan’s global biopharmaceutical champions.
Our global business combines our world-leading GPCR-targeted StaR® technology, structure-based drug design and early development capabilities in the UK with a highly experienced clinical development capability and a commercial operation in Japan.
We are leveraging these capabilities to generate and advance a broad and deep pipeline of novel medicines across multiple therapeutic areas, including neurology, immunology, gastroenterology and inflammatory diseases. We intend to develop these opportunities for patients in Japan and globally both internally and through our partnerships with global biopharmaceutical companies and emerging technology companies.
Sosei Heptares operates from key locations in Tokyo and Osaka (Japan), London and Cambridge (UK), Basel (Switzerland) and Seoul (South Korea).
“Sosei Heptares” is the corporate brand and trademark of Sosei Group Corporation, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 4565). Sosei, Heptares, the logo and StaR® are trademarks of Sosei Group companies.
For more information, please visit https://soseiheptares.com/
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Enquiries:
Sosei Heptares – Media and Investor Relations
Kentaro Tahara, VP Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy
Shinichiro Nishishita, VP Investor Relations, Head of Regulatory Disclosures
Maya Bennison, Communications Manager
+81 (0)3 5210 3399 | +44 (0)1223 949390 | IR@SoseiHeptares.com
MEDiSTRAVA Consulting (for International Media)
Mark Swallow, Frazer Hall, Erica Hollingsworth
+44 (0)203 928 6900 | SoseiHeptares@medistrava.com
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the discovery, development, and commercialization of products. Various risks may cause Sosei Group Corporation’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: adverse results in clinical development programs; failure to obtain patent protection for inventions; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; dependence upon strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialize products and services; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from development efforts; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialization activities; and product initiatives by competitors. As a result of these factors, prospective investors are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
