In November 1st 2024, Kansai Medical University Hospital established the Department of New Experimental Therapeutics and Early-Phase 1 Drug Development Service, Japan’s first university hospital department explicitly dedicated to oncology drug development. As part of the International Cancer New Drug Development Center, this department focuses primarily on early-phase 1 clinical trials for novel anticancer agents, establishing a system that enables the first-in-human use of investigational drugs at our institution.
The department provides investigational treatment using unapproved novel anticancer drugs for patients with advanced cancers that have progressed after standard therapies or for whom no established treatments exist. While the core focus is on Phase 1 trials, the department treats patients with various cancer types. Therefore, besides its dedicated staff, the department collaborates with multiple specialty departments across the hospital to form a highly specialized and multidisciplinary team, with physicians also affiliated with their respective organ-specific departments.
Early-phase 1 drug development is a critical stage in the creation of new drugs and therapies, particularly anticancer agents. It requires advanced expertise and experience, and a development speed comparable to that of Europe and the United States. As a central hub for oncology drug development in Western Japan, the Department of New Experimental Therapeutics spearheads early-phase 1 clinical trials and drug development in Japan.
Our mission is to overcome “drug loss” and “drug lag” and to deliver effective new cancer therapies to Japanese patients as quickly as possible. The department and the International Cancer New Drug Development Center collaborate closely with relevant departments and divisions within Kansai Medical University Hospital and other leading cancer treatment institutions across Japan, including university hospitals, cancer centers, and top-tier international oncology drug development organizations. We aim to promote early-phase anticancer drug development in Japan to a global standard.