JPMA and AMED Hold a “Joint Press Briefing” Announcement of the Launch of “AND-E,” a New Framework for Collaboration to Strengthen the Drug Discovery Ecosystem

On January 19, 2026, a press briefing jointly hosted by the JPMA and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) was held at AMED’s headquarters.At this briefing, the launch of “AMED IND^※ ENGINE (AND-E)” was announced as a new collaborative framework between AMED and the JPMA aimed at strengthening the drug discovery ecosystem. More than 30 members of the press attended the briefing, and numerous reports have appeared in general-interest and industry publications since the event.

Overview of the Announcement

(1) AMED President Hitoshi Nakagama

President Nakagama explained AMED’s review of its research and development support framework and the importance of a “seamless support” system for advancing drug discovery research.From the perspective of enhancing Japan’s drug discovery capabilities, he positioned AND-E as a mechanism for commercializing drug discovery research themes by incorporating the industry’s perspective, and emphasized the importance of both sides working together to resolve various challenges.

(2) Asuka Miyabashira, Chairperson of the JPMA

Chairperson Miyabashira spoke from the perspective of “The Future of the Drug Discovery Ecosystem Pioneered by Co-creation Between the JPMA and AMED,” emphasizing the importance of feeding back to AMED the experience and know-how accumulated by the pharmaceutical industry in drug discovery processes, development,and market launch, and to strengthen the evaluation and strategic design functions that bridge research outcomes to practical application. She also expressed her hope that these functions would be implemented within AMED in the future, thereby raising the overall standard of Japan’s drug discovery ecosystem.

(3) Hiroaki Ueno, Special Advisor to the President of AMED

Special Advisor Ueno explained the current status of drug discovery-related projects promoted by AMED and the expected benefits of collaboration with the JPMA. He emphasized the importance of initiatives based on existing efforts and the pharmaceutical industry’s expertise to overcome the “River of No Return” by optimally combining various technologies and insights in drug discovery research.

What Is “AND-E,” the Initiative to Strengthen Collaboration Between the JPMA and AMED?

A key feature of AND-E is that specialists from JPMA member companies—who possess extensive experience in planning drug discovery research and leading projects—are seconded to AMED. Their role is to identify promising drug candidates from early-stage basic research and chart a strategic course toward practical application and commercialization.In addition, dedicated teams will be established on both the industry and AMED sides to conduct regular progress reviews and policy discussions, thereby building a system to steadily translate basic research outcomes into practical applications.To date, the existence of a gap—often referred to as the “River of Death”—between the basic and exploratory research supported by AMED and drug discovery and development has been pointed out.To overcome this, AND-E has identified three core initiatives: evaluating drug discovery potential from the perspective of commercialization and societal implementation; designing virtual research scenarios with the Target Product Profile (TPP) in mind; and creating development roadmaps with the goal of reaching the Investigational New Drug (IND) application stage.

Toward the Development of a Sustainable Drug Discovery Ecosystem

At this joint press briefing, the JPMA and AMED clearly demonstrated their shared vision of strengthening Japan’s drug discovery capabilities through “co-creation.” The JPMA will further strengthen its collaboration with AMED to support the creation of innovative new drugs and the promotion of personnel exchanges through AND-E, with the aim of enhancing Japan’s drug discovery capabilities, while also contributing to the sustainable development of the drug discovery ecosystem.

For details, please refer to the presentation materials from the event, available on the AMED website below.
https://www.amed.go.jp/pr/pressmeeting/r07.html

(Hideki Sato, General Manager, Public Relations Department)

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