New Service from Mitsui Lab & Office MITSUI LINK-Lab Open Innovation Support Program Launched Supporting life science companies, including consultation services for research and management, common equipment room, and store stocked with research consumables and reagents

May 18, 2023
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
Life Science Innovation Network Japan Inc. (LINK-J)

Tokyo, Japan, May 18, 2023 – Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a leading global real estate company headquartered in Tokyo, has developed the MITSUI LINK-Lab Open Innovation Support Program, a new service from the rental lab and office facility in the Mitsui Lab & Office business.

This program provides a wide range of solutions measures for the various challenges facing tenants on the two core components of: 1. Support for research and business; and 2. Support for communication and networks.

The first stage of the program will be for 1. Support for research and business, in conjunction with the completion of construction on MITSUI LINK-Lab SHINKIBA 2. This will see the new launch of the science concierge, store specializing in life science, MITSUI LINK-Lab LINK-Stock (LINK-Stock) and common equipment room. For 2. Support for communication and networks, Mitsui Fudosan will work to accelerate community building even faster than now through such ways as collaboration with Life Science Innovation Network Japan Inc. (LINK-J).

Stage two and onward of new services are planned to continue going forward. By setting up laboratories that are easy to use for a variety of researchers and promoting the gathering of various players from life science startups through to companies from different sectors newly taking part in the life science domain, we will contribute to the creation of life science innovation.

Key Points of this Release

The first stage of the Open Innovation Support Program will be carried out as follows.

1. Support for research and business
   • A science concierge where scientists with a background of working for a pharmaceutical company provide consultation on matters such as research and business strategies
   • MITSUI LINK-Lab LINK-Stock store with a lineup of consumables, reagents and more for research use
   • Common equipment rooms for shared use of expensive general-purpose equipment such as cell analyzers and real-time PCR」
2. Support for communication and networks
   • Hosting events for interaction between Mitsui LINK-Lab tenants and LINK-J events such as those to promote exchange and collaboration
   • Support innovation creation throughout the whole neighborhood through the local community

(1) Support for research and business

A science concierge where scientists with a background of working for a pharmaceutical company provide consultation on matters such as research and business strategies

The science concierge is a service that allows any tenant of a Mitsui LINK-Labs to consult with the science concierge regarding various problems related to research, business strategies and other day-to-day operations. Each concierge is a scientist with a background in a pharmaceutical company. In-person meetings are also possible if desired.

• Support is only within a non-confidential scope and that will not require a non-disclosure agreement

< Examples of consultation fields >

• Research (Advice about research, help in finding research partners, consultation on where to obtain clinical specimens, etc.)
• FinanceIntellectual property, legal affairs, funding, business strategies, pharmaceutical affairs, related laws and regulations, etc.
• Other (introductions to dispatch agencies for research assistants, etc.)

< Science concierges > *Refer to attachment material for details

• Takuo Tsukuda (worked for Roche Diagnostics K.K. and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.)
• Masahiro Takeuchi (worked for Astellas Pharma Inc.)
• Toshiyuki Nomura (worked for Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited)

LINK-Stock store with a lineup of consumables, reagents and more for research use

LINK-Stock, which is scheduled to open in MITSUI LINK-Lab SHINKIBA 2 in fall 2023, is a place where it is possible to purchase consumables and equipment, reagents and more for research use. Consumables and equipment such as pipettes, beakers, centrifuges and stirrers, which can be used for a wide range of research, are offered. For reagents, the lineup includes PCR reagents, gene transfer reagents and culture media that can be used for various studies in the life science domain, including gene analysis, gene/protein expression and cell culture.

In addition to product sales, LINK-Stock will also offer a variety of services only possible for a laboratory to provide. It will support creating environments where it is easy to focus on research.

• Glassware washing service
  • Act as an agent to wash glass equipment used in research

• Repair and consultation corner
  • Receives and responds to defective or faulty equipment, and proposes alternative equipment
    * Actual repairs are not carried out within LINK-Stock.

• Delivery service for experiment samples
  • Packing of experiment samples, and delivery to shipping companies
  • If the client prefers to handle experiment samples, the store can simply sell them dry ice, too

Common equipment rooms for shared use of expensive general-purpose equipment such as cell analyzers and real-time PCR

MITSUI LINK-Lab SHINKIBA 2 and MITSUI LINK-Lab KASHIWANOHA 1 have common equipment rooms with general-purpose and expensive equipment that can be used for experiments, such as cell analyzers, real-time PCR and fluorescent microscopes, and these can all be used jointly by MITSUI LINK-Lab tenants. This reduces initial investment for tenants and leads to enhanced convenience for research, which supports environments where it is easy to work for various companies. Equipment prepared for experiments is mainly products from Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K.

(2)Support for communication and networks

Hosting events for interaction between Mitsui LINK-Lab tenants and LINK-J events such as those to promote exchange and collaboration

Using places such as the lounge in MITSUI LINK-labs, LINK-J will hold seminars and other social gatherings for tenants with the objective of exchange and collaborating. Participants can deepen interactions in such ways as exchanging business cards and introducing their own business, and plans are also to provide opportunities to exchange opinions after seminars.

Support innovation creation throughout the whole neighborhood through the local community

In Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City, which has a concentration of academia, research facilities and advanced medical facilities in diverse fields, Mitsui Fudosan is working to create a unique local community in cooperation with neighboring academia and research institutions to become a center for the life science domain. In addition, in the Shinkiba area, Mitsui Fudosan aims to accelerate the life science domain ecosystem by the office functions of the Shinkiba Center Building with the laboratory functions of the LINK-Lab and further enhancing the development of sites.

■ Mitsui Fudosan Group’s Initiatives for SDGs

https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/esg_csr/
The Mitsui Fudosan Group aims for a society that enriches both people and the planet under the principles of coexist in harmony with society, link diverse values and achieve a sustainable society, and advances business with an awareness of the environment (E), society (S) and governance (G), thus promoting ESG management. By further accelerating its ESG management, the Group will realize Society 5.0, which the Japanese government has been advocating, and contribute significantly to achieving the SDGs. Additionally, the Group formulated the following Group guidelines related to “Realize a Decarbonized Society” and “Diversity & Inclusion Promotion” in November 2021. The Mitsui Fudosan Group will continue to work toward solving social issues through neighborhood creation.

[References] Group Action Plan to Realize a Decarbonized Society
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/corporate/news/2021/1124/
Diversity & Inclusion Promotion Declaration and Initiative Policy
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/corporate/news/2021/1129_02/

* The initiatives covered in this press release are contributing to four of the UN’s SDGs