Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, the founder of RegCell Inc., one of UTEC’s portfolio companies, and Distinguished Professor at Osaka University and Professor Emeritus at Kyoto University, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He is the 20th Japanese scientist to receive a Nobel Prize in the natural sciences in this century.

Professor Sakaguchi discovered regulatory T cells (Tregs) in 1995, which play a crucial role in suppressing abnormal immune responses such as autoimmunity and allergies. He later identified the Treg-specific transcription factor Foxp3 in 2003. Over the years, he has made groundbreaking contributions to the development of new treatments for autoimmune diseases, cancer immunotherapy, and immune tolerance in organ transplantation.

RegCell was established in 2016 to translate Professor Sakaguchi’s pioneering discoveries into clinical applications. With its core technology for generating highly stable, safe, and functional regulatory T cells, the company is developing cell therapies targeting autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

UTEC has supported RegCell through initiatives including building its management structure, promoting global expansion, and providing R&D support under the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)’s “Drug Discovery Venture Ecosystem Strengthening Program.”

We sincerely congratulate Professor Sakaguchi on this prestigious recognition of his decades of scientific achievement.

For more information, please visit RegCell’s website:
https://regcellbio.com/