IP Generator, Inc. (Headquarter: Minato Tokyo, President & CEO: Satoru Iino) will change its name to the following as of July 1, 2022, to further strengthen its business foundation with a new management team.
1. Company Name Change
New company name：IPGaia, Inc. (Hereinafter, “IPG”)
Background ：”Gaia” is a primordial god that has existed since the beginning of the world in ancient Greek mythology. We have decided to name our company “IP Gaia” with the passion to contribute to society by improving medical access and reducing medical costs as a drug discovery platformer that efficiently generates high-quality clinical development candidates from drug seeds, which is a new beginning in Japan.
2. About the appointment of a new CEO
The new management structure is as follows.
| President & CEO | Yasunori Yamaguchi, Ph.D. |
| Chairman | Satoru Iino |
Yasunori Yamaguchi, Ph.D. (Ph.D. obtained from Kyoto University.) joined Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd. in 1987 as a Research Scientist at the Drug Discovery Laboratory. In his first 16 years in Research Division, he was mainly involved in the drug discovery research in Immunology Therapeutic Area and led many projects with antibody and cellular therapeutics. In the meantime, he played the pivotal role in drug discovery research targeting dendritic cells after experienced as a Guest Investigator (1992-1994) of the Laboratory of Professor Ralph Steinman (2011 Novel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine) at the Rockefeller University (New York, NY, USA) and in the development of dendritic cell based cellular therapeutics by the strategic alliance with US bio-venture company. In the next 16 years of his carrier, he played significant roles in Strategic Product Planning and Business Development function in the Planning and Strategy Division including the roles as CEO of wholly owned US subsidiaries of Kyowa Hakko Kirin (name at that time), i.e. BioWa, Inc. (2011-2016) and Kyowa Hakko Kirin California, Inc. (name at that time) (2014-2016, concurrent post with BioWa). After joining as the Global BD Lead at Axcelead, Inc. in August, 2021, he was appointed as CEO of IPG currently. Thus, with his total experience and skill, he is fully capable of conducting the alliance with pharmaceutical companies and venture capitals globally. With the appointment of the new CEO, IPG is committed to building a new drug discovery ecosystem as a drug discovery platformer and further promoting businesses that contribute to solving social issues.