In this episode of The Chain, host Tariq Ghayur, PhD, consultant and entrepreneur in residence, FairJourney Biologics, speaks with Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, vice president, Discovery Research Division, Chugai Pharmabody Research Pte Ltd., about his 20+ years of experience in drug discovery and development. Igawa possesses a unique perspective that has allowed him and his team to develop innovative concepts, such as recycling sweeping antibodies and bispecific platforms. He discusses how the discovery and development organizations work together to provide a steady supply of products, how he builds the right team when starting a new project, and how to keep team members engaged and motivated. He also offers advice for young scientists on the importance of enjoying their work and how to maintain work-life balance.

GUEST BIO

Tomoyuki Igawa, PhD, Vice President, Discovery Research Division, Chugai Pharmabody Research Pte Ltd.
Tomoyuki Igawa, Ph.D., graduated and was awarded Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo. Dr. Igawa started his career at Chugai Pharmaceutical, a member of the Roche group, and has led the effort to develop novel antibody engineering technologies, such as bispecific antibody for Hemlibra® (emicizumab), recycling antibody for Enspring® (satralizumab) and crovalimab, half-life extension technology for Mitchga® (nemolizumab), and other various technologies applied to current Chugai/Roche pipeline products. After serving as CEO and Research Head of Chugai Singapore, and Head of Translational Research Division in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Dr. Igawa is currently responsible for drug discovery as a Head of Discovery Research Division. Dr. Igawa has published > 40 peer reviewed papers and is an inventor of > 100 patents in antibody drug discovery.

MODERATOR BIO

Tariq Ghayur, PhD, Tariq Ghayur Consulting, LLC and Entrepreneur in Residence, FairJourney Biologics
Dr. Ghayur retired from AbbVie (July 2021) and works as an independent consultant. He has 30+ years’ experience leading multi-disciplinary and cross-therapeutic area Biologics discovery programs and developing novel Biologics platforms. Several biologics programs resulted in clinical development candidates. Dr. Ghayur led the team that pioneered the discovery and development of the Dual – variable – Domain -Ig (DVD-Ig) and other multi-specific platforms. Dr. Ghayur also led the team that defined the uptake, intracellular trafficking, and lysosomal degradation of anti-TNF mAbs/DVD-Ig, resulting in the concept of anti-TNF-ADC (next-Gen anti-TNF). In addition, Dr. Ghayur proposed and helped implement several corporate-wide (Abbott & AbbVie) initiatives to foster cross-functional/cross-TA collaborations to bring forward innovative concepts/programs.