InnovationInside the Innovation Center’s Research Environment: How New Ideas Emerge and Teams Are Managed (Part 2)

The Innovation Center at Kyowa Kirin is a research institute dedicated to advancing early-stage drug discovery. Research is led by Principal Investigators (PIs), experts in their respective scientific fields, who guide teams that collaborate flexibly across teams while pursuing individual research themes.
In Part 2 of this article, the focus shifts to mechanisms that encourage the emergence of new ideas and to team management approaches that promote innovation.

Usami We deliberately create opportunities for interaction to foster new ideas. One example is the research poster presentation sessions held within the Innovation Center. Many of the presenters are early-career researchers who introduce research topics 'they are now doing or keen to do'. I think these sessions serve as a valuable opportunity for researchers to learn about each other’s interests and areas of expertise.

Esaki In addition, I think we have a structure that allows people to connect naturally, without having to make a special effort. All 11 PIs are genuinely interested in people, and each of them knows a great deal about a wide range of researchers.

Usami That’s true. When someone asks a question, we often say, “So-and-so has been working on something related. Why don’t you talk to them?” The PIs really have extensive networks, which are always impressive.

Esaki It’s also important for researchers themselves to make an effort to share what they are working on. There’s a saying in Japanese that “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down,” but I believe that the nail that sticks out should be encouraged to grow. I want everyone to become that “outstanding nail.”

Usami One thing PIs can do is help create a “professional poster” for researchers. When others can say, “If it’s this research, that’s the person,” communication becomes much easier.

Esaki Exactly. And in addition to a professional poster, a “personality poster” is just as important.

Usami How someone wants to be known within the organization really depends on the individual. Some people want to be in the spotlight, while others prefer to contribute behind the scenes. When supporting researchers, I think it’s important to tailor our approach to each person. Speaking of understanding personalities, your team played a card game, didn’t they?

Esaki Yes, we did. When the team was first formed, many of us were working together for the first time, so I was thinking about how to break the ice. I asked the team for ideas, and someone suggested a card game, so we decided to play poker. It revealed people’s personalities more than I expected. Not only did it help us get to know each other, but it also created an atmosphere where people felt free to spend time thinking about new ideas, which was exactly what we were hoping for.

Usami Most of my team members are the same people I worked with back when we were in the modality-focused research group, but my role has changed. I told them honestly that there are limits to what I can do, so please help with the things I can’t or haven’t been able to. Their support has been invaluable, and I think openly sharing what’s missing is a healthy way for a team to function.

Esaki If you don’t really know someone, it’s hard to judge how far you can go when giving feedback. The card game helped, but we also try to structure work so that it isn’t always one person per theme. Sometimes two people share one theme, or two people handle three themes together. That way, people get to know more colleagues, share expertise, and support one another. Lately, I’ve been getting more feedback from the team myself. I get comments like, “Esaki-san, that’s not okay!” So the number of call-outs has definitely increased (laughs).

Usami That means you’ve built a relationship where people feel comfortable speaking up.

Esaki I’d like to become someone who doesn’t need to be called out at all, though.

Usami I encourage people to think not only about the themes they are directly responsible for, but also about their colleagues’ themes as their own. If they notice something and think, “This might work better,” I want them to speak up. The reason is simple: the number of themes one person can personally handle is limited, but by engaging with others’ work, you gain far more experience.
I want to highlight the importance of taking action rather than just engaging in discussions. Sometimes, endless meetings lead to no clear conclusions. In such situations, it's often quicker to conduct an experiment and analyze the results. Even if the outcome isn’t what you expected, you gain valuable insights into the problem, which can be applied to your next attempt. I encourage teams to continually repeat this cycle.

Esaki What I value most is giving people a push forward. If someone wants to try something, I want them to do it at about three times the scale they originally had in mind. Many people tend to hold back. Because early-stage discovery involves frequent failure, researchers sometimes hesitate, wondering, “Is it okay to try this?” or “What if it doesn’t work?”
That’s exactly why my role is to foster an environment where, if someone wants to explore 10 possibilities, they can actually test 30. Less experienced researchers tend to think, “This is probably all I can manage,” leading them to narrow their ideas from 10 down to just three. But we can support each other as a team, and we also have tools like robotics at our disposal. With a bit of creativity, there's always a way forward.

Usami First and foremost, it’s important not to label things as failures. Every experience leads to the next opportunity. Even if a particular theme doesn’t succeed, it doesn’t mean that the individual has failed; it’s simply a result of experimentation. I want people to feel free to work without unnecessary pressure.

Esaki I completely agree. If you try three different approaches, perhaps one will succeed. While some methods may seem inefficient from a purely theoretical perspective, that’s exactly what I want to encourage. Rather than spending time ranking priorities from 1 to 10, I prefer to focus on exploring options from 1 to 30. I always remind the team, “You have the right to take on challenges.”

Usami Since we’re fortunate enough to work in an industrial research environment, I want people to truly appreciate that they can take on challenges.

Esaki Exactly. I want them to go all in.

Esaki It does get busy. Sometimes it feels overwhelming. That said, it doesn’t necessarily translate into excessively long working hours.

Usami Many researchers adjust their working hours flexibly based on the progress and schedule of their research goals. Everyone seeks ways to work more efficiently, creating an environment that demands strong self-management skills. At the same time, this level of autonomy makes it easier to balance work and personal life.
In my case, my spouse and I both work, so I sometimes leave early for family reasons. We can also leverage other teams’ experimental results or bring in specialists when needed. I want team members to think about how something can be made possible, rather than assuming it can’t be done.

Esaki For example, there are ways to automate analysis through programming. As a company, we are actively promoting DX by leveraging tools such as robotics and AI to find effective ways forward.

Usami DX certainly helps. At the same time, relying on DX alone without actually running experiments isn’t ideal either. At the Innovation Center, we work under the slogan “Back to the Labs.” There are things you simply can’t understand without experimenting. I truly hope researchers will make full use of DX while remaining deeply engaged in hands-on experimentation.

Usami In recent years, there have been more on-demand and virtual options, but we believe there are things you can only truly experience in person. The Center Director actively encourages participation in international conferences because they want researchers to experience global developments firsthand.
In addition, studying abroad requires a doctoral degree, so some people are inspired by the stimulation they receive at international conferences and begin to consider pursuing a PhD as part of their career development.

Esaki Our competitors—and our partners—are global. You can’t compete if you don’t understand the world. I see participation in international conferences as a message to researchers: Understand the global landscape, conduct science that can truly compete, and pursue rigorous, credible research.

Usami I believe that any medicine we develop must be something we would feel safe administering to ourselves if we were patients. If a drug incorporating technology I helped create ultimately reaches patients, there could be no greater fulfillment as a researcher.

Esaki I feel the same way. I want to help create products that become pillars of the company and to deliver medicines originating in Japan to patients around the world. I believe that our efforts today contribute not only to the growth of the pharmaceutical industry in Japan but also to a future in which the next generation can thrive.