One source of Advalife Science’s approach to research and development lies in the work carried out at the Kurume Translational Research Center, established in 2003. There, the team worked on proteomics research, including the analysis of adverse drug reactions, and on the biostatistical analysis of new drug development.

In the course of that work, they met cases in which hypotheses drawn from basic research and statistical analysis could not fully explain or predict how individual patients responded in clinical practice, and they encountered clinical phenomena that the existing understanding of mechanisms of action could not fully account for.

Drug discovery starting from a single target has developed into one important methodology; within the body, however, multiple molecules, pathways, cells and tissues interact with one another. That experience drew their attention to the importance of reverse translation — taking phenomena observed in clinical practice back into research hypotheses and analysing the biological mechanisms behind them.

Building on the knowledge of protein research developed through proteomic analysis, research into protein components derived from human cells began in 2016. Alongside basic research using research materials, the questions and observations arising in clinical practice have been returned to research hypotheses, forming a cycle that runs through target exploration, analysis of mechanisms of action, validation in disease models and the construction of drug discovery concepts.

Today, Advalife Science sees life as a complex system and takes the questions and observations arising in clinical practice back into research hypotheses, carrying them through scientific validation into the research and development of new drug candidate compounds. This cycle of research, drug discovery and clinical practice is the foundation of its research and development.