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Speaker

Toru James Seo, PhD

SENIOR DIRECTOR AND APAC LEAD, SEARCH AND EVALUATION, WORLDWIDE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICE, PFIZER INC
Dr. Toru James Seo is Senior Director and head of External Science and Innovation (ES&I) of Pfizer in Japan He obtained his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Pathology from Wake Forest University and completed post-doctoral training in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases at Columbia University. He joined the faculty as an assistant professor in Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center where he performed independent academic research as well as teaching in the field of lipid metabolism. In 2006, he moved to pursue a R&D career, focusing on target identification and preclinical pharmacology, first with GSK and then with Merck, both in Japan and the US. While at Merck in the US, his responsibilities grew to include project leader, global scientific committee member and Team Lead in Central Pharmacology, and his teams were responsible for preclinical PK/PD and pharmacology studies as well as external collaborations supporting cardiovascular and diabetes therapeutic areas. In 2012, he joined Taisho Pharmaceutical in Tokyo leading efforts in corporate strategy, scientific scouting, academic partnering, and product licensing. Leveraging his unique experience with the combination of academia and industry background, he continues to lead open innovation after joining Pfizer Inc. as a Japan head of External Science and Innovation (ES&I). In January of 2019, he became an APAC Lead, Search and Evaluation, Worldwide Business Development, Chief Business Office, Pfizer Inc. to oversee search/scouting activity of innovative and breakthrough drug candidates and other assets in APAC regions. Outside of Pfizer, he is an advisory committee of Osaka University and a visiting professor of Waseda Business School, Waseda University. He is also active in engaging as an external counselor and advisors of a few biotechs and VC including recently established Biolite Japan where he is a co-founder..
Speaking In
10:00 AM - 10:55 AM (JST)
Wednesday, March 6
Corporate biopharmas have decades of experience with university collaborations and open incubator…
2nd Floor