Newsletter Volume 38, Number 2, 2023
Introduction
The new fiscal year has started, and we have heard news of entrance ceremonies and initiation ceremonies in person. The 143rd Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan was a great success with over 8,000 participants. At Hokkaido University, the venue of the meeting, we could see heated discussions taking place here and there, and we are now anticipating new prospects for coronary infectious diseases after the transition to Class 5.
In the two months since the last issue of this newsletter, there have been a series of sobering news events, such as the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the major earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. In the midst of all this, many of you may have been encouraged by the performance of Samurai Japan in the World Baseball Classic. In the circle before the final game, the Japanese players said, “I have one thing to say to you. Shohei Ohtani’s speech before the final, starting with the words, “Let’s stop yearning for the future,” was deeply engraved in my mind. Goldschmidt at first, Mike Trout in center, Mookie Betts in the outfield… I think everyone who plays baseball has heard of these players. You can’t go over the top if you admire them, so we came here today to go over the top, to be at the top. For today, let’s put aside our admiration for them for one day and just think about winning. Let’s go! He ended his 32-second speech with the words, “Let’s go!
As the coronary disaster subsides, the International Cytochrome P450 Conference will be held in 2023 and the International Joint Meeting with ISSX North America will be held in 2024. Let’s study with respect for great basic research and clinical development and produce results that surpass them, as a member of JSSX, “Let’s go! (N.N.)
Introduction of Feature Articles
NEW POWER working on dynamic research
The purpose of this issue is to provide an opportunity for our members to get to know young professors who are expected to be very active in the future in both industry and academia, and to bring new vitality and stimulation to our society. The authors are invited to introduce their research achievements and future goals with their personal histories, and to write about their expectations for the society and our field. We hope that this corner will help to foster a “culture of fostering new young power throughout the society. Please send your suggestions to the editorial board members.
Introduction to Pharmacokinetic Studies in Research and Development of Cell Therapy Products
Cell therapy is an innovative treatment that modifies or repairs the function of cells, tissues, or organs by administering or transplanting living cells to patients. In the research and development of cell therapy products, cellular kinetics (CK) evaluation, which evaluates the concentration of cells in the blood over time, and biodistribution (BD) evaluation, which evaluates the migration of the product into tissues, are conducted. Since the properties of cell therapy products are very different from those of small molecule compounds, antibody drugs, nucleic acid drugs, etc., it is necessary to go beyond conventional wisdom in study design and data interpretation when assessing pharmacokinetics. In this article, we will introduce analytical methods for CK and BD evaluation of cell therapy products, pitfalls that experimenters often fall into when evaluating CK/BD, basic characteristics of CK and BD of cell therapy products, and usefulness of modeling and simulation for CK/BD analysis in several articles.