Tsumura enters a Sponsorship Agreement for the "University of Oxford Innovative Systems Biology Project sponsored by Tsumura"

2013.11.07

• News Release

Tsumura & CO. (Head office located in Tokyo, Japan; President Terukazu Kato), whose corporate philosophy of "The Best of Science & Nature", entered into a sponsorship agreement*1 with the University of Oxford for the launching of a Research Programme entitled "University of Oxford Innovative Systems Biology Project sponsored by Tsumura" in October 2013.

The Research Project entitled "University of Oxford Innovative Systems Biology sponsored by Tsumura" will apply methodologies of Innovative Systems Biology to elucidate the mechanism of multiple actions of specified basic compounds of traditional herbal medicine in Japan.

Tsumura believes that this Project is significant and innovative; moreover, it could contribute to a better understanding of the nature of Kampo. As a sponsor, Tsumura will provide support such as funding for the Research.

The Principal Investigators for this Project are Professor Denis Noble and Dr. Richard Boyd at the University of Oxford. Prof. Noble is widely acknowledged as one of the originators of Systems Biology*2.

The corporate mission of Tsumura is to "contribute to the availability of medicines of unprecedented quality by combining Kampo and Western medicine." Tsumura believes that the provision of safe and effective Kampo medicines to patients will lead to better treatment outcomes.

Supplemental information A discussion meeting with the Press was arranged by this Research Project on 3:30 PM (BST) of October 8, 2013 at the Royal Society (London, United Kingdom). Tsumura started preparing this Project's official press release in Japan immediately after the meeting and with the consent of the University of Oxford Press Office and issued it today at the same time with the University of Oxford Press Office.


*1 Sponsorship agreement
Tsumura will provide support such as funding for this Research at the University of Oxford. The Research will be conducted by the Investigators and Researchers of this Research Project.

*2 Systems Biology (Explanation by Tsumura)
Systems biology is an approach in biology that leverages physiological and bioengineering methodologies to comprehensively understand bodily functions through integrated analyses of the interactions among the various parts such as tissues and genes rather than taking them apart through reductive analyses.