- Collaborative research on diseases
- Training of young researchers
- Promotion of collaborative research in the Biopolis in Singapore
- Establishment of a RIKEN office in Singapore within the year
RIKEN, represented by its President Prof. NOYORI Ryoji, and Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), represented by its Chairman Mr. Philip YEO, are concluding a new Memorandum of Understanding on General Collaboration (MOU). Under this MOU, RIKEN and A*STAR intend to collaborate on scientific research, through their various institutes, especially in life sciences and biotechnology, with a view to making large contributions to these fields and to international society. The signing ceremony for the MOU will take place on September 16, 2005, at 2:30 p.m., at RIKEN's Tokyo office.
RIKEN and A*STAR are planning to conduct research together mostly on life sciences and biotechnology. The Singapore base for this research will be the Biopolis, which is a research complex established by A*STAR for the development of biomedical industry. The following collaborative projects are now under consideration:
- Structural analysis and drug development related to cancer transcription factors
- Screening and rapid diagnosis for known and unknown environmental pathogens
- Young Singaporean neuroscientists to receive training at RIKEN
In order to facilitate collaborative activities under this MOU, RIKEN is planning to set up an office in the Biopolis in Singapore by the end of 2005.
| 1. |
Summary of collaborative activities between RIKEN and A*STAR |
RIKEN is an Independent Administrative Institution which conducts world-class research in the natural sciences, in particular genome science, neuroscience, other life sciences, and biotechnology. In the future it intends to advance still further its research in these fields.
A*STAR is a statutory corporation under the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry. Its Biomedical Research Council and Science and Engineering Research Council manage twelve research institutes and one center, including the Genome Institute of Singapore, the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, and the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences. A*STAR plans that biomedical industry will join electronics, chemistry and engineering as Singapore's fourth key industry. In 2003 it appointed Dr. Sydney Brenner, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, to be the chairman of that council and established the “Biopolis”, a biomedical research complex under its Biomedical Research Council.
It is believed that RIKEN and A*STAR have many subjects of interest in common in the life sciences and biotechnology, and that through collaboration they will be able to make research achievements in these fields that are of great value to the world. This year RIKEN is planning to set up an office within the Biopolis, with the main purpose of promoting collaborative research under this new MOU.
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| 2. |
Contents of the MOU |
The following activities will take place under this MOU:
- Exchange of researchers and staff;
- Exchange of scientific and technological information, including delivering lectures and holding joint seminars and symposia;
- Exchange of scientific and technological research materials;
- Joint research and development;
- Sharing of best practices in intellectual property management and technology transfer.
For each such collaborative activity RIKEN and A*STAR will enter into a Specific Collaboration Agreement. The activity will be conducted under this Specific Collaboration Agreement, which will also specify the details of how the results will be handled and how the intellectual property rights will be assigned.
The MOU also describes how each party will treat information possessed by the other party, and the setting up of a Steering Committee to review the progress of the collaborative activities and consider possible new collaborative projects.
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| 3. |
Specific collaborative projects now under consideration |
- Structural analysis and drug development related to cancer transcription factors
- Screening and rapid diagnosis for known and unknown environmental pathogens
- Young Singaporean neuroscientists to receive training at RIKEN
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| 4. |
Details of the ceremony |
- Date and time
- Friday, September 16, 2005, 2:30-3:15 p.m.
- Location
- RIKEN Tokyo Liaison Office
Rooms 739-740, 7th floor of Shin-Tokyo Building, 3-3-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005
Tel. 03-3211-1121/2, fax 03-3211-1120
- Order of events
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| (a) |
Introduction |
Shin OKOUCHI, Director of General Affairs Division, RIKEN |
| (b) |
Explanation of the MOU |
Kenji TAKEDA, Executive Director, RIKEN
(Kong Peng LAM, Biomedical Research Council, A*STAR) |
| (c) |
Confirmation of the Memorandum of Understanding |
| (d) |
Signing |
| (e) |
Addresses by Prof. Noyori and Mr. Yeo |
| (Questions will be taken after the ceremony.) |
- Persons present
- For RIKEN: Ryoji NOYORI (President), Kenji TAKEDA (Executive Director), Tomoya OGAWA (Director of Yokohama Institute), Yoshiyuki SAKAKI (Director of Genomic Sciences Center), Masao ITO (Special Advisor to Brain Science Center)
For A*STAR: Philip YEO (Chairman), Kong Peng LAM (Acting Executive Director of Biomedical Research Council), Geraldine WANG (Corporate Communications), Huibin ZHANG (Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology)
Government: Koji OMI (Member of the House of the Representatives and former Minister of Science and Technology), Chin Tiong TAN (Singapore's Ambassador to Japan), guests from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
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Inquiries
| RIKEN |
: |
Akira NAKANISHI,
Director of Policy Planning Division,
tel. 048-467-9248, fax 048-462-4600;
or Public Relations Office,
tel. 048-467-9272, fax 048-462-4715,
e-mail ex-press@riken.jp
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| A*STAR |
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(In Japan) Geraldine WANG, Asst. Head, Corporate Communications
Tel. 090-9961-5530, e-mail geraldine_wang@a-star.edu.sg
(In Singapore) Ms Ng Hwee Lin, Senior Officer, Corporate Communications
Tel: (65) 68266 336, e-mail ng_hwee_lin@a-star.edu.sg
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Supplementary information
Comments by Prof. Noyori, President of RIKEN
- Singapore is a vital partner for Japan in tackling problems specific to Asia (the environment, diseases particular to the region, etc.). I believe that technologically and socially it has a variety of strong points in Asia.
- A*STAR has medical, chemical and engineering research institutes and the Biopolis plan. I believe that there are thus many areas of research on which RIKEN and A*STAR can collaborate. For now we are examining possible collaboration on research related to cancer, research on environmental pathogens and the development of diagnostic methods for them, and accommodating young researchers from Singapore at RIKEN and giving them training in neuroscience.
- I hope that RIKEN can make large contributions to the nurturing of the next generation of scientists in these fields in Asia. This will have great significance for the future. I believe we should take this opportunity to consider even more multi-faceted collaborations in the Asian region.
Comments by Mr. Yeo, Chairman of A*STAR
Science today is a truly global activity and there is a huge potential for collaboration between Singapore and Japanese researchers that has not yet been tapped. Building on its network of global partners, the A*STAR-RIKEN partnership will cement already excellent ties between our two countries and open the door for more world-class research. Japan is a powerhouse in scientific research and both our countries are in the same time zone so it's easy for us to talk. The opportunities and conditions for collaboration between A*STAR and RIKEN researchers are excellent. What this MOU aims to do, is to get that process going.
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| (left) Prof. Noyori, President of RIKEN, (right) Mr. Yeo, Chairman of A*STAR |
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