March 15 2011

Kyoto University
Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd

Laboratory for Malignancy Control Research
New cancer research facility in Kyoto University
supported by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma

Kyoto University (Kyoto, Japan: President: Hiroshi Matsumoto) and Dainippon Sumitomo
Pharma Co., Ltd. (DSP; Headquarters: Osaka, Japan; President: Masayo Tada) announce
today the launch of a new cooperative project aiming at discovering innovative drugs,
diagnostic tools, and therapeutic strategies for life-threatening cancers.

Kyoto University has recently established Medical Innovation Center with the mission of
recruiting and supporting industry-sponsored research projects carried out on campus,
thereby accelerating the translation of the fruits of basic researches into useful products of
important clinical applications on the one hand and creating the opportunities for young
scientists to develop their own projects and careers on the other. In the field of Oncology,
Kyoto University has established Cancer Center1 in 2007, the first national-university-based
cancer center in Japan, to provide state-of-the-art cancer treatments. In the Graduate
School of Medicine, important findings of potential clinical use are being made at the
molecular, cellular, and whole organism levels. Cancer is one of the five major research
areas selected in the global COE program “Center for Frontier Medicine” 2. The purposes of
this government-supported graduate program are to foster future global leaders in medical
research and to promote bidirectional interactions between basic and clinical scientists. This
graduate school has also been selected as one of the two Sister Institutions in Japan by M. D.
Anderson Cancer Center, the world’s largest cancer treatment and research facility.

While the main focus of DSP’s research efforts has been on the central nervous system, the
company also recognizes oncology as one of a major speciality area with high unmet medical
needs, and has already spent substantial efforts in some specific areas such as cancer
immunotherapy.

Here in DSK Project, Kyoto University and DSP unite their expertise (for instance, the ample
experience and knowledge from basic and clinical researches in Kyoto University and the
knowledge and resources in drug R&D and regulatory affairs, and management skills in DSP)
to establish a research center where selected young scientists are supported to establish their
own research units and to pursue their original and promising ideas that will eventually lead to
the development of new drugs, materials, or concepts useful for cancer prevention, diagnosis,
or therapy.

SUMMARY

DSK Project: Laboratory for Malignancy Control Research

Purpose:
In this project, we recruit and support several groups of young researchers working in
the field of molecular, cellular, and clinical oncology to find molecules and concepts
useful for developing innovative cancer drugs, diagnosis, and therapy.

Term:
5 years from March 2011

Organization:
The DSK project’s leadership is comprised of the Alliance Management Committee
(the policy-making body), Research Promotion Committee, Drug Development
Committee, and Intellectual Property Committee, each composed of the same number
of members from both Kyoto University and DSP. Research will be conducted by two
core research teams, several research units of young investigators, and the satellite
teams in DSP, under the mentorship of the experienced pathologist, Emeritus
Professor Hiroshi Hiai.

Correspondence:
Kyoto University:
Graduate School of Medicine, Medical Innovation Center TEL +81-75-753-9461

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma:
Corporate
Communications TEL +81-6-6203-1407