Ph. Dialogue「博士人材セミナー」は、Ph. Discover連携企業からゲストを迎え「博士課程修了者が企業でどのように活躍しているのか」「企業は博士人材に何を求めているのか」についてお話ししてもらい、後半はゲストと学生が対話を通して交流する企画です。11回目は落合祐介さんと若手研究者のみなさん(住友ファーマ株式会社)をお迎えしました。
Sumitomo Pharma: https://www.sumitomo-pharma.co.jp/
2005年に大日本製薬と住友製薬が企業合併して誕生。研究重点3領域「精神神経領域」「がん領域」「再生・細胞医薬分野」に加えて感染症領域にも取り組み、グローバルヘルスに貢献する。2022年4月から社名を大日本住友製薬から「住友ファーマ」に変更した。
The Importance of “Research and Development” as Listed in Our Corporate Philosophy
I'm Ochiai from the Sumitomo Pharma Human Resources Department. I joined the company after completing my master's course, and when I first joined the company, I was conducting research in the Pharmacokinetics Department of the Research Division (currently the Research Division). After that, I was transferred to the safety department and the research planning promotion department, and from July 2021 I was assigned to my current personnel department. It was after I joined the company that I received my Ph.D.
Our corporate philosophy is here (image below). The point is that the second line says, "Based on research and development." It is a company that sends a clear message both inside and outside the company that research and development is essential for the growth of the company.
Since our establishment in 2005, we have been actively recruiting doctoral talent. Looking at the data for the most recent five years, about 40% of new doctoral graduates are in research positions. About 40% of the researchers hired are in the Faculty of School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy, and the remaining 60% are in general science-related faculties such as agriculture, science, and engineering. From here on, I will talk about the expectations for doctoral human resources, company introductions, and doctoral graduates who are active in our company.
Expectations for global doctoral human resources who can compete with the rest of the world
博士人材に期待することは「極めて高い専門性」と「戦略的な思考」、そして“指示待ち”ではない「自律的な行動」の三点です。マインドの面では「仕事の成果により社会の役に立つ喜び」「自分の専門性を社会に役立てたい」という気持ち、そして「モノづくりへの熱意」を持つ人材を求めています。
製薬会社が他のメーカーと大きく異なる点は、研究を始めてから社会で使われるまでに非常に長い年月が必要とされるところです。そのプロセスは下記に示すとおり、「創薬研究」「臨床試験」「承認申請」「販売」の4段階があります。なかでも初めの研究段階にいる研究職は、何もないところからアイデアを生み出す「0→1」、その価値を最大化する「1→10」がミッションです。このミッションを達成するため、博士の皆さんが大学で培ってきた高い研究力が必要となります。
We have summarized the differences between academia and corporate research from our perspective as frequently asked questions during job hunting. The biggest difference is that companies have a clear goal of “results = products”. Since the purpose is different from academia, the results and points to be emphasized are also different.
Various systems to promote bottom-up innovation
続いて企業紹介に移ります。2006年度と2020年度の数字を比較しますと、当社の海外売上比率は8%から63%へと大きく伸ばし、売上高も2612億円から倍近くの5160億円に成長しました。現在ではアメリカ、アジアを中心に幅広く展開しています。研究開発の重点領域は「精神神経」「がん」「再生・細胞医薬」の3領域。いまだ有効な治療法がない疾患に対する医療ニーズ、つまりアンメット・メディカル・ニーズの高い領域における革新的な新薬の創出に全力を注いでいます。
当社の若手社員を対象に入社後に感じた点についてアンケートをとったところ、以下のような声がありました。(下記画像)。最後の「20%ルール」とは、10年ほど前に初期創薬を担う研究部門で使われていた言葉です。“上司から与えられた業務は勤務時間全体の80%でこなして、残りの20%は自分の好きな研究に使おう”、という、当社の自由な研究風土を象徴する考え方の一つです。皆が気軽に「今はどんな新しいことやっているの?」とオープンに話し合える環境の中で、ボトムアップのイノベーションを促進しています。実は、今の研究所の中では、「20%ルール」という言葉を使っている人はいないのですが、使わなくてもいいくらい、浸透しています。
新しく生まれたアイデアをさらに進める独自の制度もあります。それが、「プロジェクト制」です。入社1年目でも画期的なアイデアの発案者は、テーマリーダーになることができます。もしテーマがうまく進み、研究ステージから臨床試験へと進む時、発案者はテーマと一緒に臨床試験を行う開発部門に異動するか、あるいは引き続き研究部門で新たな仕事で活躍するか、2つの選択肢を持つことができます。また、もし若手がリーダーになった場合でも、経験値が足りない部分は経験豊富な周囲の社員がサポートする体制も整っています。
In addition, when there are research issues or concerns common to each project, we recommend virtual one-team activities to tackle issues across projects and departments.
Doctoral human resources active at Sumitomo Pharma
Here, I would like to ask two of our Ph.D. human resources to introduce themselves. These two will answer your questions during communication time.
I'm Yuuki Mizukami from Mizukami Hokkaido University. I joined the company as a new graduate in 2017 after obtaining a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical science from the Graduate School of Life Science. His specialty is organometallic chemistry, and while experiencing search synthesis work for infectious disease themes and non-CNS and CNS themes, he is also working on in silico technology (data science and chemoinformatics) that he has been self-studying. I came to
From fiscal 2020, in addition to the above, I have also been working as a leader of a cross-departmental organizational culture reform team that aims to revitalize the research division and work on a team that launches new internal themes.
FukudaMy name is Kurumi Fukuda and I graduated from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. I have changed my affiliation and research theme between undergraduate and master's. I joined the company in 2019 after completing a five-year doctoral program majoring in genetics at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies. Although I did not come from a pharmaceutical background, I am currently enrolled in a pharmacology research unit in the neurological field, where I come up with ideas for new drugs and build in vivo and vitro drug efficacy evaluation systems. My hobbies include fishing and mountain climbing, and while valuing the "life" of life-work balance, I would like to do biological research that will be useful for someone's life.
コミュニケーションタイム
After joining the company, both those from the Faculty of School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy and those from other faculties
Q: I heard that your company employs people from science and engineering fields other than School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy. How do these people learn about pharmaceuticals after joining the company?
Ochiai: The main thing is OJT, but in the research department, there is training to learn the flow of drug discovery research after joining the company. Fukuda, who graduated from the Faculty of Faculty of Agriculture, will also answer this question.
Fukuda: My research theme during my student days was the development of parasitic wasps and oogenesis in mice. I had experience with biological experiments, but it was all new to me when it came to drug discovery. When I first joined the company, I didn't understand the technical terms that other people were talking about at all, but while studying on my own based on what I learned in the training, I spent about half a year studying as a job while watching the work of my seniors. I feel like I've gotten used to it.
Mizukami: I belonged to a chemical laboratory in the Faculty of School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy, but my main work was the synthesis of metal complexes, so I had almost no experience in general organic synthesis. So, I learned more about experimental techniques after joining the company. I was worried when I first joined the company, but our company has a system called "Rookie Supporter", and seniors who provide exclusive support are assigned to me, so I was able to get used to the work smoothly and become independent.
Fukuda: As an aside, when I look back on my job-hunting experience at a pharmaceutical company in a slightly different field, even if I came from a non-pharmaceutical background, I would think about how I could use my specialty at the company, and what I wanted to do at the company. I thought it would leave an impression on the person in charge of human resources if I appealed to them. (This is just my personal experience!)
落合:そうですね(笑)。当社の場合、「自分は〜をしたい」という意欲を全面に出してエントリーしてくださる方を歓迎しています。「自分の研究は創薬に関係ない」とすぐにあきらめずに、少しでもつながる可能性があれば選択肢の一つとして考えてみてください。
Training to increase the effect within a limited time
Q:ワークライフバランスはいかがですか?
福田:当社の博士人材は入社2年目から裁量労働制になり、一日連続で3時間働けばあとはフレキシブルな働き方が可能です。学生時代は動物実験をしていたので、土日もラボに行くのが当たり前でしたが、社会人になってから土日は「休みの日」という感覚になりました。たとえ土日に出勤することがあっても休日出勤手当が出るので喜んで頑張れます(笑)。体に優しい会社です。
Mizukami: This is also a reflection of myself, but when I was a student, I was able to do experiments without worrying about time, so I think I ended up with an inefficient experiment schedule. I'm sure now I can do the same amount of work in less time. This is because, in addition to increasing my own experience, I cannot produce results as a corporate researcher unless I have that kind of awareness above all else. I recommend that students develop this awareness of “getting the maximum effect in a limited amount of time” from an early age. If you do that, you will be able to produce more results at university, and you will be able to make a smooth transition to life after entering society.
Recommend programming and statistics
Q: What do you wish you had studied when you were a student?
Fukuda: I wish I had studied programming a little more in the sense of streamlining my work.
Mizukami: I'm a statistician. People involved in exploratory synthesis work are required to make decisions by looking at various evaluation data, such as pharmacological activity, pharmacokinetics, and safety, from various angles. Statistics are always needed. I am desperately studying now. On the other hand, when I was enrolled at Hokkaido University, I was glad that I did an internship at IBM as part of my doctoral support programming. I think that my interest in AI and programming there has led to my current career path of mastering both wet and dry.
Start Date: February 22, 2022
Organizer: Ph. Discover
Co-organizer: Hokkaido UniversityFaculty of Science/Hokkaido University Center for Mathematics and Data Science (Data-related Human Resource Development Program) / Hokkaido University Doctoral Program for Materials Science Leading Program