Tanabe Research Laboratories U.S.A., Inc. Reopens San Diego Facility With Focus on Biological Drugs

SAN DIEGO, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Tanabe Research Labs USA, Inc. (TRL) today announced commencement of its new operations at the TRL facility in San Diego with a focus on biological drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. TRL began its new activities in May with the appointment of three new senior executives: Masaki Yamada, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer; Toshihiro Hosaka, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, and Roland Newman, Ph.D., VP and Chief Scientific Officer.

Dr. Yamada joined the predecessor to Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC), TRL's ultimate parent corporation, in 1985 and currently manages research projects, portfolio and alliances within MTPC. Dr. Yamada spent the 1991-92 fiscal year at TRL as a visiting scientist from Japan. Dr. Hosaka earned his Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry from Chiba University in Japan and was a visiting scholar at Stanford University in 1998. He entered the pharmaceutical industry in 1993 as a medicinal chemist and project manager for the predecessor to MTPC. Dr. Newman has over 30 years of experience in biochemistry, immunology and molecular biology research and business development in both academic and commercial settings. He is the Co-inventor and Co-developer of Rituxan® and other antibody based therapeutics.

In its new configuration, TRL will focus its efforts on antibody and biological approaches to target specific immune cells and soluble factors, as well as investigating new methods for modulating immune cell functions. Its ultimate goal is to discover and develop potential biological drug candidates for therapy in autoimmune diseases. TRL expects to hire a number of new scientists in the coming months and to be fully functional by Q4 2010.

Commenting on the re-launch of TRL, Dr. Yamada said, "There is a great deal of relevant scientific know-how in the San Diego region and many opportunities to collaborate with others in pursuing success in similar areas of research. We believe the new focus on biologicals will be very rewarding and we look forward to TRL becoming a significant player in this area." Further explaining plans for TRL, Dr. Newman said, "TRL will not only build in-house research programs, but establish collaborative relationships with other companies and academic research organizations to further its goals of identifying preclinical leads for further development. TRL will continue to re-focus its efforts in immunology in the short term and expand into other areas, including oncology, in the future."

TRL is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Japan. For more information about MTPC or TRL please contact www.mt-pharma.co.jp/e/ or www.trlusa.com

SOURCE Tanabe Research Labs USA, Inc.