• Eleven strains of recombinant inbred (RI) mice derived from MRL/lpr and C3H/lpr mice were established. This RI is the only one in the world that randomly develops lesions such as nephritis, arthritis, sialadenitis, vasculitis, and production of autoantibodies in each strain. The genomes of the two strains of mice are randomly held in homozygous condition, and the phenotypes of each strain and the effects of administered drugs could be compared based on their genotype maps. It is possible to identify the regions of gene loci involved in the phenotype and drug sensitivity.

Development of diagnostic and therapeutic agents for autoimmune diseases. It can be applied to the elucidation of the mechanism of onset of immunological adverse events caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors and the development of drugs to prevent the onset of such events, and industry-academia collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, test reagent companies, etc. is possible.

• McH/lpr-RA1 mice are recombinant congenic mice descended from MRL/lpr and C3H/lpr mice and develop arthritis, vasculitis, and sialadenitis with high frequency and severity, with severe pannus formation similar to rheumatoid arthritis, polyarteritis nodosa, and Sjogren's syndrome. On the other hand, McH/lpr-RA1 mice do not develop systemic lymphadenopathy and severe nephritis as seen in MRL/lpr mice, so they are easy to breed and maintain and can be used for long-term drug administration experiments.

Development of diagnostic and therapeutic agents for collagen diseases. It can be applied to the elucidation of the mechanism of onset of immunological adverse events caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors and the development of drugs to prevent the onset of such events, etc. Industry-academia collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, test reagent companies, etc. is possible.

• Angiogenesis, i.e., the formation of new capillaries, takes place under pathophysiological conditions including cancers, ocular neovascular diseases and atherosclerosis. Anti-angiogenic drugs have been developed, and are now in clinical use. However, because of side effects due to the damage to vascular endothelial cells, the development of anti-angiogenic drugs with different modalities is anticipated. We have isolated vasohibin-1 (VASH1) as a novel angiogenesis inhibitor expressed by endothelial cells (ECs), and vasohibin-2 (VASH2) as its homologue having pro-angiogenic activity.

We are planning to develop strategies of VASH1 potentiation and VASH2 inhibition. For VASH1 potentiation, we are planning to use recombinant VASH1 protein or search low molecular weight substances having VASH1 like activity. For VASH2 inhibition, we are succeeded in the development of neutralizing anti-human VASH2 monoclonal antibody.

• HIV infection is one of most serious concern in infectious diseases. We will perform anti-HIV assays for unmet medical needs in control of HIV infections with established novel assays. We have developed reverse transcriptase inhibitor that has novel mechanism of inhibition, translocation-inhibition (J Biol Chem, 2009). Dr Kodama participated in the primary screening and development of a new HIV integrase inhibitor, elvitegravir (J Virol 2009), and a unique reverse transcriptase inhibitor, islatravir, which phase III clinical trials by the Merck & Co., Inc. will complete, soon. We have a representative resistant HIV strain-library for anti-HIV screening and several target oriented high through-put screening systems.

We can establish high through-put screening for new targets, so please consult with us individually. We are open to joint development requiring BSL3/P3 experimental facilities and academic guidance including other microorganisms.

• Using the infectious SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2), we are evaluating and developing new therapeutic drug candidates as well as evaluating disinfectants. Further analyses such as mechanism of action and resistance may be applicable. Other pathogens, including influenza virus and drug-resistant bacteria, will be examined upon request and discussion. Through joint and collaborative research with domestic and overseas pharmaceutical companies and related companies, we have experience of their clinical application including basic research.

We support development and evaluation of various inhibitors and disinfectants for variants of SARS-CoV-2 as well as wild type.