Swiss-Based Debiopharm Seeks to Boost Innovation in Japanese Cancer Research Through the New "Ideal Japan” Program

After 20 years of the prestigious JCA (Japanese Cancer Association) Mauvernay Award in Japan, Debiopharm is now transitioning its longstanding support for Japanese research to the new IDEAL Japan initiative
The “Innovation Debiopharm Academia Life Science” (IDEAL) program is designed to financially and scientifically support academic research with the goal of accelerating the translation of innovation into novel therapies for patients
The first IDEAL Japan agreement was signed with the National Cancer Center Japan Research Institute Laboratory of Genome Stability Maintenance to advance research in early-stage colon cancer

Debiopharm (www.debiopharm.com), a Swiss biopharmaceutical company aiming to cure cancer and infectious diseases, is pleased to announce today the launch of the new IDEAL Japan initiative. This program was initiated to provide financial support to Japanese academic researchers in order to facilitate the transformation of academic innovation into novel therapeutic approaches for combating cancer. IDEAL Japan follows the conclusion of the highly respected JCA (Japanese Cancer Association) Mauvernay Award in Japan, which honored Japanese scientists over the last 20 years, from 2004 through 2024. Debiopharm is now transitioning its historic award into the IDEAL Japan initiative aiming to accelerate preclinical scientific research that could give rise to new treatments for cancer patients.

“Our vision is to collaborate to find a cure for cancer,” explained Thierry Mauvernay, President of Debiopharm. “We believe that our ongoing Swiss-Japanese connection needs to evolve and catalyze the translation of scientific innovations into medicines for patients. We are transforming our award initiative into a program that can practically support academic Japanese innovation in oncology, potentially leading to new breakthroughs for people fighting cancer.”

The first IDEAL Japan agreement was signed with the National Cancer Center Japan. Through this first project that has just entered the program, Debiopharm will fund discovery research targeting colon cancer, exploring specific mutations and novel mechanisms of action to outsmart this malignancy.

“We’re thrilled to support the National Cancer Center Japan in their quest to unravel genetic alterations of certain colorectal cancers and to exploit those genetic vulnerabilities in order to develop highly advanced medicines, expressed Frederic Levy, Chief Scientific Officer. “We hope that our IDEAL Japan program will efficiently support the journey of important discovery analysis in oncology on the road towards a cure.”

The IDEAL Japan program is open to oncology research professionals that are members of the Japanese Cancer Association, allowing these researchers to apply for funding through a quick and simple process at any time during the year. Selected projects will be supported over a period of up to one-year, providing financial funding up to 10,000,000 JPY for research to be carried out. At the completion of the IDEAL project, Debiopharm will decide either to end the project or to enter into negotiation with the researcher and the host institution for a license agreement.

About Debiopharm

Debiopharm aims to develop innovative therapies that target unmet needs in oncology and bacterial infections. To bridge the gap between breakthrough discoveries and patient access, Debiopharm identifies high-potential compounds, undertakes clinical development, and then partners with major pharmaceutical companies to bring medicines to the market and make them accessible to as many patients as possible throughout the world.