Dec 27, 2022Mayor of Houston's visit to our company

On Thursday, October 27, 2022, our Industrial Products Division (General Manager: Hiroyuki Tominaga) and Stellar Pharma, Inc. (President: Yuki Uehara) received a courtesy visit from Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston, U.S., and his delegation during their visit to Japan.

This courtesy visit was made possible by the high level of interest shown by Mayor Turner and his delegation in the new Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT), a new treatment that was the first in the world to be covered by insurance in Japan, and in the company that manufactures and sells the treatment equipment and drugs for the therapy.
This courtesy visit was made possible by Dr. Ritsuko Komaki's introduction of us.
She was a longtime professor of radiation oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, the No. 1 cancer center in the United States.

Following an opening speech by Business Manager Tominaga and an introduction by Mayor Turner of the Houston area's industries and biomedical hubs, Susan Davenport, Chief Economic Development Officer of the Greater Houston Partnership, gave a presentation on the city's life science activities, and After that, Ms. Uehara, President of Stellar Pharma, Inc. explained about BNCT drug Stevoronin, and Mr. Kataoka, BNCT model manager of our Industrial Equipment Division, explained about BNCT, its history, and our BNCT system.
After a lively Q&A session, Mr. Hiasa, General Manager of the Medical and Advanced Equipment Division of our Industrial Equipment Business Unit, gave the closing speech.
In his explanation, he showed an example of BNCT destroying tumor cells while preserving normal cells, which surprised the audience and deepened their understanding of BNCT.
At the end of the speech, we received their strong hope that BNCT would be introduced in the United States.

Mayor Turner's delegation was accompanied by government officials and co-led by Bob Harvey, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, Houston’s largest chamber of commerce, and several of its members. The delegation also included JETRO Houston Office Director Mr. Sakurauchi, and we were able to engage in a useful exchange of views on BNCT entry into the U.S., starting with Houston, where the biomedical research and clinical infrastructure is well developed.

We would like to use this courtesy visit as an opportunity to continue building relationships and exchanging ideas with Mayor Turner and other stakeholders in the City of Houston regarding the growth of the BNCT system business, starting with the City of Houston, and expanding throughout the United States and the world.








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