Astellas Pharma and BioLabs Global, and Mitsui Fudosan announced that they have agreed on a tri-party memorandum of understanding to enhance the life science ecosystem in Tsukuba and Kashiwa-no-ha, Japan, world-renowned science hubs. With this agreement, the three companies will partner to advance SakuLab-Tsukuba, an open innovation hub launched by Astellas in October 2023, and embark on an exciting journey to accelerate open innovation and enhance the life science ecosystem in Tsukuba, Kashiwa-no-ha and the surrounding areas.

Under this agreement, BioLabs, renowned for its shared laboratories and programing to support life science startups and connect the global life science industry, will support Astellas by bringing its expertise to ensure seamless facility management. It will also co-host networking events for residents and provide them with opportunities to connect with a global life science ecosystem.

Mitsui Fudosan, operates "MITSUI LINK-Lab KASHIWA-NO-HA 1", a rental lab facility in Kashiwa-no-ha that supports tenants' open innovation activities. Astellas established TME iLab open innovation hub for research of tumor microenvironment in Mitsui Fudosan's "MITSUI LINK-Lab KASHIWA-NO-HA 1". Under this agreement, Astellas and Mitsui Fudosan will collaborate to enhance this planned life science ecosystem in Tsukuba, Kashiwa-no-ha and the surrounding areas.

Astellas will prepare ready-to-use experimental facilities for SakuLabTM-Tsukuba in its Tsukuba Research Center, one of their flagship research centers. It will support academia and startups working on innovation by leveraging its drug discovery capabilities and provide networking opportunities between residents and Astellas researchers.

SakuLab is the branding name for Astellas' global open innovation hubs.

Yoshitsugu Shitaka, Chief Scientific Officer (CScO), Astellas, says: "Astellas is committed to growing and developing innovative ideas and technologies with academia and startups by providing knowledge and experience gained through research and our global network. We strongly support the growth of academic seeds and startups; we contribute to the development of the life science ecosystem in each region with strategic partnerships, joint research opportunities and investments in open laboratories. With this agreement, we envision our labs in Tsukuba and Kashiwa-no-ha to be where visionary ideas and specialized knowledge converge, turbocharging the development of pioneering healthcare solutions."

Johannes Fruehauf, Founder and CEO of BioLabs, says: "BioLabs is thrilled to be partnering with Astellas and Mitsui Fudosan to continue expanding BioLabs' global network in Japan. In support of our shared mission to accelerate the commercialization of cutting-edge innovations that improve the lives of patients, we will work together to develop the life science innovation ecosystem in the Tsukuba area."

Kazunori Yamashita, Executive Managing Officer, General Manager, Mitsui Fudosan, adds: "We sincerely welcome the opening of the SakuLabTM-Tsukuba following TME iLab in Kashiwa-no-ha. In the Kashiwa-no-ha area, the construction of a smart city is progressing through public-private-academic collaboration, and in the life science field, the creation of an innovation-generating ecosystem is underway, including medical and healthcare-related initiatives through cross-sectional collaboration among academia and companies, and the formation of communities to support the social implementation of R&D seeds. We hope that our new partnership will accelerate the linkage between these communities and ecosystems and the Tsukuba area."

Astellas has already reflected the impact from this agreement in its financial forecast of the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.