In September 2025, the Mansfield-PhRMA Research Scholars program convened its annual two-week study tour to D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston. Funded by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the tour allows eight researchers from Japan’s pharmaceutical research community to engage with various components of the American pharmaceutical and translational research ecosystem, including healthcare policy, regulatory practices, and opportunities for entrepreneurship.
The 11th cohort was accompanied by three observers representing the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
The tour commenced in Washington, DC, on September 15 with a visit to the PhRMA headquarters. The DC segment largely focused on federal research, including meetings with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Children’s National Hospital Center for Precision Medicine and Genomics, and Kei Koizumi, former Principal Deputy Director for Science, Society and Policy within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. There were also opportunities for discussions with non-government organizations like CSIS, The Asia Group, and Duke Margolis Institute for Health Policy, and with patient advocacy groups like the Global Colon Cancer Association. The group also heard from Drs. Sachiko Kuno and Ryoji Ueno on their experiences as Japanese researchers succeeding in the American pharmaceutical industry.
In Philadelphia, participants learned about the role of academia in translational research via meetings at Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania. At UPenn’s Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT) and Pennovation Works, scholars spoke with several faculty about current research initiatives and educational programs and toured facilities supporting upcoming inventors and entrepreneurs. The Coulter-Drexel Translational Research Partnership Program facilitated a discussion on the gap between academic research and industry, and how to accelerate the transition. To round out the Philadelphia portion of the tour, the group visited Johnson & Johnson’s campus in Spring House, PA, to learn about the drug development process, but also strategies for corporate business development and product marketing.
The second week of the study tour brought participants to Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA, a major U.S. hub for pharmaceutical and translational research. Many meeting partners explained the history of Kendall Square, emphasizing the impact of having so many actors in such close proximity, forming a research ecosystem. The tour included meetings with organizations, including pharmaceutical companies Takeda, Eisai, Alexion by AstraZeneca, and Lilly, as well as academic research centers at MIT and Tufts University (Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development). The group also learned about clinical trials and data sharing platforms at the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard.
Finally, participants gained an understanding of early-stage development for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in the United States. The group toured Lab Central’s incubator space and received advice from Dr. Harvey Lodish of the Whitehead Institute and the cofounders of Strand Therapeutics, Drs. Tasuku Kitada and Jacob Becraft. Other meetings with partners from Covington & Burling and FPrime Capital focused on the non-research aspects of entrepreneurship: securing funding, protecting intellectual property, and meeting reporting and disclosure obligations.
Over the course of the tour, participants compared the Japanese and the U.S. systems and thought about what aspects of the American system might translate to Japan. At the final program debrief, participants highlighted the cultural difference in approaches to failure. Compared to Japan, the American research system sees failure as a necessary step to innovation, and quickly uses lessons learned to move on to the next idea. Other themes were the level of communication among stakeholders, especially within research communities like Boston, and the implementation of support systems for rising researchers and new companies. Having reflected on these differences, participants returned to Japan with fresh energy and motivation to share their findings with colleagues and students and work to adapt Japan’s research and development system.
For more information, check out our LinkedIn and Facebook pages for posts from some of our Cohort 11 participants and information about recruitment for the upcoming 12th Cohort in early 2026.