Key person interview
desire to work hard together
Waseda University Professor Emeritus, Doctor of Commerce
Mr. Shuichi Matsuda
Question 1. Please tell us if there is an episode about when you first met President Yoshida.
About 10 years before SymBio Pharmaceuticals was established, Mr. Yoshida was the president of Amgen Japan, and at that time he was publishing a book titled "Bio pioneer story, Amgen's success story." The year before the book was published, I started the Entrepreneur Study Group at Waseda University, and JAFCO and other famous venture supporters in Japan were all members. It was the first such organization in Japan, so it was published in a newspaper. As soon as I visited the place.
Question 2. Please tell us if there is anything that left an impression on SymBio Pharmaceuticals before and after its founding.
Before accepting the position of outside director, I was quite interested in what kind of activities Mr. Yoshida was doing and what kind of doctors (doctors) he was dating. Mr. Yoshida introduced me to Dr. Rathman, the founder of the company. At that time, I understood very well what kind of hardships they had to go through to launch a bio-venture, and how they miraculously came out with a big new drug. When you think about being an entrepreneur, it is extremely important to have a strong sense of purpose and to match the direction of your business with the needs of society. With that in mind, when Mr. Yoshida starts a business, I would like to have some kind of relationship with him, and at the same time, I thought that this would be an interesting case study that is unique to Japan. There was also such a thing.
“SymBio Pharmaceuticals” has the word “pharmaceutical” in its name, but is it another venture? No. There is drug discovery, so why pharmaceutical? Pharmaceuticals cannot be pharmaceuticals unless they are made by themselves and sold by themselves, even if they use outsourcing. SymBio Pharmaceuticals was aiming for that from the beginning. Since it is a rare disease, it has become a blank medical field. It was a rare bio-venture, so I was very interested.
Question 3. Please tell us why you invested in SymBio Pharmaceuticals, which was just established, and how you took on the position of outside director.
After all, bio-ventures are overwhelmingly risky from a general point of view. The chances of commercializing a new drug candidate are 1/20,000 or 1/30,000. As a result, the risk is high again after entering the clinical setting, and even more, when it comes to manufacturing products, a huge capital investment is already required. It's true that such risks are high and money is needed, but in the case of SymBio Pharmaceuticals, the target is a rare disease, which is Underserved Therapeutic Areas in Japan. I thought this would reduce the risk considerably. The other is the number of patients, in other words, the market can be read to some extent, and because it is a rare disease, if we specialize in that field, we will be able to establish a considerable competitive advantage.
So the growth story was pretty clear. As a head of venture capital, as long as I invest in ventures, I must not let investors lose money. Of course, I thought about whether the probability was low compared to others, but it was a business model that had a very clear story, was based on rare diseases, and set up a number of small pillars. was the first time in Japan. I'm very interested in that, and I want to enjoy the changes in how the company will look from the inside while working through a little hardship together, including hardships together. There was
Capital, as well as audit corporations, is something that everyone supports with all their might until the company goes public. Because I have to make money. Once published, it will be quite thin. The heat cools down a little. However, venture companies go through a lot of hardships after going public, including with shareholders. I wonder if it's a capital that doesn't abandon it. That's really necessary, and America's leading capital is doing it too. Of course, I will sell it when it is published. But first of all, if you date for a long time.
We, Well Investment, are still shareholders. A little. Third parties wondered why I had been holding it for so long and didn't sell it when the timing was right. By the way, isn't it good to have it for a long time?
Question 4. What is your impression of SymBio Pharmaceuticals' acquisition of new drug approval and turning a profit?
Ultimately, going all the way to the point where you make your own and then sell it yourself entails tremendous risks and costs. I think doing it yourself would be a big deal.
Each one has a high risk during development, and we have to sell it once it is completed. There is also the problem of MRs, and there is also the question of how well sales channels can be created. Sales channels are not about selling as soon as they are created, but because they are being operated in a competitive environment. Considering this, we do not have a long-term plan, a strong will, and a solid management team to support that will. I don't think it will go that far.
In that sense, I think that the people of the company here have been able to endure this direction well, and the company has invested a considerable amount of money and made a lot of efforts, but there are many people who are backing up. It seems to be said that there is, and it will come so far and thinks.
After all, in reality, until you actually sell the product and deliver it to the customer, you won't understand medicine unless you actually try it. When you sell it and listen to the customer's opinion directly this time. Until now, the voice of the customer was "I wish there was such a new drug," but this time it's a real voice. Unless you make an effort to sell yourself, you won't know what the problem is, and I don't think you will be able to realize the expansion of indications unless you get various information directly from the customer. I think it's called a rare disease, or rather, it's a small unit that's been attacked a lot. That's why we're completely in the black this time. It's the first time in Japan. Judging from the results, I feel like we were able to come this far because of everyone's efforts.
Question 5. What do you feel is the difference between SymBio Pharmaceuticals and other bio-ventures?
Drug discovery is a high-risk venture among venture companies, including so-called Internet-based, ICT-based, and manufacturing. There is basic research, preclinical, clinical, and Phase I, II, and III, and the time axis is quite long. I have to think about how to stand on that long time axis. In a business with a long time frame, I feel that it is very important to have a successful model at the beginning to push forward without deviating from one goal. There have been many cases where people just collected money without having an initial successful model, but ended up doing nothing.
Then, if the market becomes huge this time, it will be attacked by other companies whose scale is three digits different, and there is nothing we can do Underserved Therapeutic Areas it. Considering that we were a competitor, I think it was a very good option, even though it was in the domestic market. Although it is limited to Japan and some parts of Asia, I think it was good that I was able to accumulate skills in various ways and the ability of management as a whole in there. increase.
After all, the time frame is long in the area with the highest risk, and we have to endure it. It is a rare case in Japan that it is completely profitable in 17 years and starts to turn around aiming for 10 billion yen.
Question 6. Do you have any advice for SymBio Pharmaceuticals, which is expanding globally in the future?
Especially in the case of new drugs, I think that it is very difficult for entrepreneurs to take on the challenge of Japan's universal health insurance system. Even if you are leading the way, it is not acceptable to say that one treatment costs 10 million yen because the value is about this. Since it is a universal insurance system, there are still considerable limitations.
SymBio Pharmaceuticals is a peculiar and small market where there is relatively little competition for rare diseases, and where major companies have not entered much, we have been able to steadily build up our strengths, and have learned a lot, including the development process, how to recruit people, and promotion. It used to be based in Tokyo, or rather Japan, but now has a base overseas, especially in the large American market.
Mr. Yoshida originally worked in the global market of Amgen, focusing on development, so he has experience with Amgen in the past. Therefore, even though it is a new drug for the world, there is already knowledge to the extent that it is not a blank in Japan.
With that in mind, the skills that went as far as selling the product yourself in the end, and the overall skills of everyone, are quite condensed. Well, now, I think that the small unit has finished experimenting to some extent.
Therefore, I have heard that there are still many challenges ahead in the world market, but this is still very difficult under the universal health insurance system. Japan has limits. In that sense, if SymBio Pharmaceuticals can make use of the knowledge it has accumulated so far and the experience of everyone playing an active role, the ability to do such things as development and market, the first step in the United States, etc. I think it's gradually coming along. I hope that the accumulated knowledge of the company as a whole will become a strength, and that we can really make use of it when developing overseas in the future.
Question 7. Do you have a message for shareholders and patients?
Shareholders, in particular, are wondering if this company has future potential and whether it will be profitable. I think it's going to be like that. Unfortunately, while achieving this level of profitability, the stock price rose a little and then fell again. This is partly due to market conditions, but that is the situation. However, I feel that shareholders who are looking at long-term trends may be looking at them properly.
In addition, when it comes to patients, this is already the biggest customer. Of course, there are pathologies unique to Japan, not just Japan, but since this is a human being, I think it is almost universal. Then, what should be delivered to such patients as soon as possible? From the stage of basic research, it is possible to quickly find something that has a little bit of intellectual property, and whether or not there is a total development capability from there will ultimately lead to the growth of a drug discovery company. I think so. SymBio Pharmaceuticals is a very unique company because it is interesting that they are also doing pharmaceuticals while aiming for that.
When I go to the world, I don't really know whether "pharmaceuticals" can be used as it is. We will continue to develop new drugs that can compete in a new world, and we will do the same. I wonder if such a bud has finally sprouted now. In that sense, right now we are calling for a “second foundation,” and we are now accumulating the ability to not only fill the blank medical field in Japan, but also take SymBio Pharmaceuticals to the next stage. It seems to be said that we may have come and thinks.