Company Information

Company NameMetagen, Inc.
FoundedMarch 18, 2015
Capital (including capital reserve)35,000,000 JPY
Correspondent BanksMizuho Bank, Mitsui Sumitomo Banking Corporation, Yamagata Bank, Tsuruoka Shinkin Bank, Japan Finance Corporation, Shonai Bank
RepresentativePresident CEO Shinji Fukuda
Number of Employees26
Board MembersTakuji Yamada, Yoshinori Mizuguchi, Shinnosuke Murakami
AuditorSocial Insurance & Labor Consultant Corporation, Japan Affairs Representative
Kiichi Yamamoto –  Specified Social Insurance & Labor consultant
Advisor (Chielf Health Officer)Department of Gastroenterology, Juntendo Hospital, Juntendo University School of Medicine Associate Professor
Dai Ishikawa, Ph.D. (Medicine) / Doctor
Business AdvisorPresident Director and Group CEO of Leave a Nest Co., Ltd.
Yukihiro Maru, Ph.D. (Agriculture)
Consulting DoctorDepartment of Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University
Cancer Genome Informatics – Professor

Dr. Shinichi Yachida, Ph.D. (Medicine) / Doctor
Special AdvisotLeave a Nest Co., Ltd. President and CEO CKO
Joe Inoue, Ph.D (Pharmacy) / Pharmacist

Keio University Professor
Masaru Tomita, Ph.D. (Medicine / Engineering / Policy and Media)
Group CompaniesMetagen Therapeutics, Inc.
President CEO Taku Nakahara, Ph.D. (Science) / MBA

Metagen Singapore Pte. Ltd.
President CEO Tatsuhiro Nomaguchi, Ph.D. (Science)

Access

[Headquarters / Tsuruoka Laboratory]

246-2 Minakami, Kakuganji, Tsuruoka City, Yamagata 997-0052 

About 5 minutes by car from JR Tsuruoka Station

About 20 minutes by car from Shonai Airport


See here for access details.
 

[Kawasaki Office / Laboratory]

3-103-9 Tonomachi, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 210-0821

Take the bus from “Kawasaki Station” and get off at “King Sky Front” and walk for 3 minutes (Rinko Bus)

15 minutes on foot from “Kojima Nitta Station” (Keikyu Daishi Line)

See here for access details.

Board Members

Representative, President CEO

Shinji Fukuda

In 2006, completed a doctoral course in Agriculture at Meiji University Graduate School of Agriculture. After working as a special researcher in basic sciences at RIKEN, he became a specially appointed associate professor at the Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University from 2012, a specially appointed professor at the same from 2019, and a representative director of the Society for Intestinal Design from 2021, 2022. Since 2010, he has also been a specially appointed professor at the Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University. In 2015, he won the grand prize at the Bioscience Grand Prix for his business plan “A healthy society created from flights” and established Metagen Co., Ltd. He assumed the position of President and CEO. His specialty is intestinal design studies.

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2003JSPS Research Fellow (DC1)
2006Completed doctoral course at Graduate School of Agriculture, Meiji University, PhD (Agriculture)
Research Associate, RIKEN Center for Genomic Sciences
2007Special Postdoctoral Researcher, RIKEN Center for Allergy and Immunology
2010Researcher, RIKEN Center for Allergy and Immunology
2012Project Associate Professor, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University
2015PRESTO Researcher, Japan Science and Technology Agency (concurrent)
2015〜President and CEO of Metagen Co., Ltd.
2016〜Visiting Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba
2017〜Group Leader, Kanagawa Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
2019〜Specially Appointed Professor, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University
Visiting Professor, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, University of Technology Malaysia
Deputy Research Director, ERATO, Japan Science and Technology Agency
2020〜Visiting Professor, Faculty of Horticulture, Chiba University
2021〜Visiting Professor, Institute of Japanese and Chinese Medicine, University of Toyama
Representative Director, Intestinal Design Society
2022〜Specially Appointed Professor, Department of Microbiota Regeneration, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine

Awards and Honors

2012Japan Bifidobacterium Center Research Encouragement Award
2013Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Young Scientist Award
2014Mishima Kaiun Academic Award
Yamagata Prefecture Science and Technology Encouragement Award
2015Bioscience Grand Prix Grand Prize
National Institute of Science and Technology Policy, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology “Outstanding Contributions to Science and Technology 2015”
2016Momofuku Ando Prize “Invention Discovery Encouragement Award”
2017Bioindustry Encouragement Award

Executive Vice President CTO

Takuji Yamada

In 2006, completed the doctoral course in Science at the Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University. After working as a research assistant at the Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, a researcher at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and a lecturer at the Graduate School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, he has been an associate professor at the Department of Life Science and Technology, School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology since 2016. In 2015, he became Executive Vice President and CTO of Metagen, Inc. In 2020 he won the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award for Science and Technology (Research Category). His specialty is bioinformatics.

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2006Completed Doctoral program, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University Doctor of Science
Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University
2007European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Postdoctoral fellow
2009EMBL Senior Technical Officer
2012Lecturer, Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2015PRESTO Researcher, Japan Science and Technology Agency (concurrent position)
2015〜Vice President CTO, Metagen, Inc.
2016〜Associate Professor, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology

Awards and Honors

2015Challenging Research Award, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2018Selected for “Star of Tokyo Institute of Technology” Support [STAR], 2008
2020The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Prizes for Science and Technology (Research Category), 2020

Director CFO

Yoshinori Mizuguchi

In 2015, he co-founded Metagen, Inc. and became a director while studying at the Tokyo Institute of Technology Graduate School of Life Science and Technology. In 2018, he completed a doctoral course at the same graduate school and a doctoral education course at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology/Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Program for Leading Graduate Schools, Tokyo Institute of Technology. He has a Ph.D. (Engineering). After serving as COO and CSO of the company, he assumed his current position. 2020 Temporary member of the Industrial Structure Council, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Since 2023, he has been a temporary member of the Science and Technology Council of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. His specialty is tissue engineering.

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2015Director and COO, Metagen, Inc.
2018Completed Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ph.D
Completed Doctoral Program in Information Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Leading Program for Doctoral Education
Director and CSO, Metagen, Inc.
2020Temporary member of Industrial Structure Council, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
2020〜Director and CFO, Metagen Inc
2023〜Temporary member of Council for Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

Awards and Honors

2015EDGE INNOVATION CHALLENGE COMPETITION, GOLD AWARD

Director COO/CIPO

Shinnosuke Murakami

In 2016, completed doctoral course at Keio University Graduate School of Media and Governance. She holds a Ph.D. (policy and media). She has been Chief Researcher at Metagen Co., Ltd. since 2016, Executive Officer since 2018, COO and CIPO (Chief Intellectual Property Officer) since 2022. From 2016 to 2023, she also served as a specially appointed assistant professor at the Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University. Her specialties are environmental microbiology and balneotherapy.

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2013JSPS Research Fellow (DC1)
2016Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University PhD (Policy and Media)
Chief Researcher, Metagen Co., Ltd.
2016~Project Assistant Professor, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University
2018〜Executive Officer COO, Metagen Inc.
2022〜Director COO/CIPO of Metagen Co., Ltd.
2023〜Researcher, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University

Awards and Honors

2013SFC STUDENT AWARD 2012
20144th High School Student Bio Summit in Tsuruoka Outstanding Research Leader Award
2015The 9th Bacteriology Colosseum for Young Scientists Young Encouragement Award
2018Research Encouragement Award of the Japanese Society of Onsen Climatology and Physical Medicine

Awards and Achievements

2023.01.31“The 110th Grant for New Technology Development (2nd round in 2022)” by Kiyoshi Ichimura New Technology Foundation, a public interest incorporated foundation, was adopted.
2022.11.30Well-Aging Economic Forum “Well-being & Age-tech 2022 Award” Digital Minister Award
2022.08.04Scrum Studio’s Global Open Innovation Program “Well-BeingX” Adopted
2021.06.18The Independent Administrative Corporation for Small and Medium Business Foundation Preparation Organization Order and the third correction of the “Business Reconstruction Grant” for the second year
2021.01.27Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Selected Companies for Acceleration Program
2020.09.01Adopted by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) for the Support Project for Collaboration to Strengthen the Competitiveness of Commerce and Services (New Collaboration Support Project)
2020.07.31Adopted for Yamagata Prefecture’s subsidy for high-level human resources support project
2020.07.10Yamagata Prefecture subsidy for bio-related regional industrial traction project adopted
2020.04.21Ranked 50th in the “Asia Pacific High-Growth Companies 2020” by Financial Times/Statista
2020.03.18Established an overseas group company Metagen Singapore Pte.
2020.01.17Established a group company Metagen Therapeutics
2019.09.11Adopted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) “Project to Promote the Development of Collaborative Domain Data Sharing and AI Systems for the Promotion of Connected Industries”.
2019.08.23Adopted by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the “Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) SDGs Business Support Project” project feasibility study (SME support type)
2019.08.08JPO IP Acceleration Program “IPAS2019” Recognized as a Recipient Company for the First Phase of Support
2019.07.09Shonai Regional Industry Promotion Center, Grant Program for Supporting Commercialization of Joint Research Seeds (Sales Channel Development Type) Adopted
2019.06.28Adopted for Yamagata Prefecture’s subsidy for high-level human resources support project
2019.06.24Selected as a “J-Startup” by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
2019.02.02Won the 1st Medtec Grand Prix KOBE DNP Award
2018.09.18Adopted for New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) “AI System Joint Development Support Project”
2018.08.16Adopted for Yamagata Prefecture Highly Skilled Human Resources Support Project Subsidy
2018.08.06Adopted for Yamagata Prefecture Super Total Support Project subsidy for small and medium-sized enterprises (support project for research and development, etc.)
2018.06.26Adopted for Shonai Regional Industry Promotion Center, Grant for Commercialization Support Project for Joint Research Seeds (Sales Channel Development Type)
2017.12.22Selected as a “regional future driving company” by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
2017.09.07Winner of ICC Partners “ICC Conference KYOTO 2017 Catapult Grand Prix
2017.08.10Adopted for Yamagata Prefecture SME Super Total Support Project Subsidy (R&D Support Project)
2017.07.11Adopted for Shonai Regional Industry Promotion Center’s subsidy project to support commercialization of joint research seeds (employment promotion type)
2017.03.03Awarded Real Tech Venture of the Year 2017 (startup category)
2016.10.12Awarded the Yamagata Creation Business Plan Contest (Business Plan Category) Grand Prize
2016.06.22Adopted for the Shonai Regional Industry Promotion Center’s Collaborative Research Seeds Commercialization Support Grant Program (Employment Promotion Type)
2016.06.01Adopted for the Shonai Regional Industry Promotion Center’s Collaborative Research Seeds Commercialization Support Grant Program (Commercialization Promotion Type)
2015.08.01Adopted as Grant for Yamagata Regional Industry Support Fund Project, Problem-Solving Technology Development Support Project
2015.06.25Approved as Tokyo Tech Venture
2015.06.01Adopted as a grant project for the Shonai Regional Industry Promotion Center’s joint research seeds commercialization support project (seeds exploration type)
2015.05.21Adopted for the subsidy for promoting business startups and second startups in the supplementary budget for 2014
2015.01.25Awarded the Grand Prize in the Bioscience Grand Prix