May 27, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
Ryo Kubota is a medical doctor who is also chairman, president and chief executive officer of Seattle-based biotechnology Acucela Inc..
Kubota is well recognized in his field, having performed over 1,000 ocular surgeries to treat cataract, retinal detachment, diabetic retinopathy glaucoma, strabismus, and other conditions
He discovered a glaucoma gene, myocilin, earning Kubota the Suda Award, and established Acucela, where his research helped advance the theory that toxic by-products of the visual cycle could be a causative factor in AMD.
So far, Kubota has raised over $40M in venture capital rounds A, B and C, and negotiated and signed a co-development and co-commercialization partnership for the lead visual cycle modulation program with Otsuka Pharmaceutical. He alao negotiated second and third partnerships for dry eye syndrome and glaucoma--and built a positive cash flow organization from nothing to more than 80 people over 10-year period.
He has been honored by JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research Abroad, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Keio University, plus JSPS Research fellowships for young scientists, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Keio University.
Walk us through your typical workday.
In the morning, I work out or play tennis before coming to work. The highlights of my workday are meetings with staff and my one-on-one meetings with employees.
What’s your proudest career achievement to date?
In February 2014, I led Acucela to its listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and we became one of the first U.S. companies to solely list on the Mothers Board of the TSE. We also raised $140 million in our initial public offering. This kind of relationship between a U.S. company and the TSE was nearly unprecedented, and our company is stronger because of it.
Acucela also continues to focus on our lead investigational visual cycle modulation (VCM) drug candidate: emixustat hydrochloride. Our Phase IIb/III clinical trial evaluating emixustat for geographic atrophy associated with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is continuing on schedule, and we look forward to announcing the results in mid-2016.
How did you know science was the career for you?
I was always full of curiosity and interested in knowing things that no one else knows. I was always interested in discovering something new.
Did you found your company? Why?
Yes, I founded Acucela out of my basement in Seattle in 2002. The company is part of me and is my life’s work. I was always interested in creating my own business, and it was very different from what I had done in the past as an ophthalmologist and scientist, performing more than 1,000 ocular surgeries and serving as a senior fellow at University of Washington. I am always interested in doing something completely different, new and challenging. This excites me.
Anything in particular that makes you grateful?
What makes me grateful are all the people who I’ve I met along the way in my life, starting out with my parents and teachers, as well as mentors, peers, investors and the people who choose to work for me every day.
Any pieces of advice for people looking to get to where you are now?
In terms of advice, you have to be optimistic and tenacious. You also need to have conviction and be passionate about your purpose.
Favorite hobbies?
My favorite hobby is to play tennis. I am a 3.5 player on the National Tennis Rating Program and have been playing for many years. I am still striving to be a better player.
Why have you stayed doing what you do for so long? What makes it worth it?
I am very much interested in making the world a better place. Acucela is doing important, potentially world-changing work that could greatly improve the lives of millions of people who suffer from sight-threatening diseases like glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This kind of medicine has no borders and instead has the ability to bring people together.
Also, Acucela is a unique company in that we bridge two countries (the U.S. and Japan) and their rich and dynamic cultures. I am proud of the people in our company. Our diverse backgrounds make us strong as we work to be a global leader in ophthalmology. You can have very different backgrounds but still prosper and work together for a common dream of making a better world.
Favorite quote:
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
--Albert Einstein