About Us
EP-Bio Partners will
act as a bridge to
bring promising seeds
from academia and
bio-ventures to
the market promptly.
Our Services
A specialized trading company that supports drug discovery business connecting Japan and China
EP-Bio Partners Co., Ltd. is a core member of the EPS Group, providing support for the development of drug discovery ventures in academia and biotech companies.
EP-Bio Partners Co., Ltd. is engaged in three main businesses.
First, as a Japan-China CRO, it provides clinical trial-related services to Japanese pharmaceutical companies to support their entry into China.
The second is support for licensing and investing in seeds of Japanese and Chinese start-ups, and medical exchange between Japan and China.
The third business is pharmaceutical development business, which provides One Stop Solutions for drug discovery companies in Asia including China that are seeking to enter the Japanese market, including drug discovery startups and academia in Japan.
As a specialized trading company supporting drug discovery, we aim to deliver promising innovations to the Japanese and Chinese markets, contributing to the creation of new value and a thriving ecosystem.
We are combining 3 business as a new business – IRO (Innovative Research Organization), aimed to establish a new service model.
Representative Director Message
Representative Director
Kosuke Kuronuma
Aimed to be a drug discovery platform that serves as a bridge between Japan and China
EP-Bio Partners Co., Ltd. was launched on June 23, 2022 as a separate entity to separate the drug was launched on June 23, 2022 as a separate entity to separate the drug discovery support business between Japan and China and in Japan from EPS Innovative Medicine (Japan) Co., Ltd. which was launched on October 8, 2021 as the first drug discovery company of EPS Group.
Recently, the environment surrounding drug discovery in Asia, especially China and Japan, has been changing dramatically.
In the past, major pharmaceutical companies invested a great deal of resources in research and development of pharmaceuticals for many years. In recent years, about 80% of the world’s drug discovery and development market has been developed by biotech companies.China is also a huge market with the world’s largest population, and has positioned the pharmaceutical and biotech business as one of its major national strategies, investing significant funds and resources.
This has led to an increase in the number of pharmaceutical companies in China and an increase in clinical trials for Japanese pharmaceutical companies seeking for approval and to sell in China.
Also in Japan, the landscape of drug discovery is changing dramatically. The number of drug candidates originating from academia and the number of biotech companies are also increasing.
As a specialist healthcare company linking Japan and China, we aim to serve as a bridge between pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies and academia in order to deliver promising drug candidates of medicine to markets in Japan and China. We hope to provide new value and build a new drug development ecosystem.
We look forward to be of service to you.
Directors and Management
Board Member
Corporate Officer Structure
Kosuke Kuronuma
Representative Director,President and Representative Corporate Officer
He joined a medical startup in 2000 after experiencing sales of medical equipment and electronics equipment in Europe, North America, Asia, and Japan, and investment and financing for an electronic equipment startup in Japan for about 10 years. At that time, the company succeeded in breakthroughs that allowed e-marketing to take root in MR activities, which were mainly visits, and contributed to the company’s listing on the TSE Mothers (at the time) in 2007. He joined EPS Corporation in 2013. The company established the first subsidiary in the CRO industry specializing in clinical research and clinical trials led by physicians, enabling it to conclude contracts with almost all academia in Japan and grow into a business with a size of several billion yen. He has been a member of EPS Medical Consultancy (Japan) Co., Ltd. since its inception and served as Representative Director, President and Chief Corporate Officer.
Xia Xiangming
Auditor
He started to study at Department of Genetics (now the Department of Molecular Genetics) at Okayama University as a Chinese government-sponsored student in In 1981, and afterward received a Master of Science degree. After returning to China, he spent nearly 20 years working on trade, investment, and technical exchanges between Japan and China at China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). He retired from CCPIT with the last position of the representative officer to Japan. In 2008, he joined EPS China Co., Ltd., EPS’s regional headquarters in China, where he was involved in the establishment and business development of EPS China, and served as President and subsequently Vice Chairman. In 2018, he was appointed Corporate Officer and Counselor of EPS Holdings, where he was primarily responsible for the management support and was the head of the managing division of EPS Creative Health Technology. He has experience in social activities, such as Vice Chairman of the Association of Chinese Enterprises in Japan and Managing Director of Chinese Chamber of Commerce Japan.
Tomohisa Hayakawa
Advisor
He was engaged in clinical development planning and project management in Japan, the U.S. and Europe at Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. He joined the EPS Group in 2007 and served as the head of project management and business development in Japan, China, and Asia. On 2021, he was appointed Corporate Officer of EPS Innovative Medicine (Japan) Limited. In the same year, he was appointed Representative Director and President of EPD Co., Ltd. He has extensive experience in oncology area. He has experience in public activities such as a member of the Research Evaluation Committee of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and a program committee member of the DIA Annual Conference in Japan for Asian New Drug Development. Ph. D in pharmacy and a pharmacist.
Hisayo Morioka
Corporate Officer
After working as a pharmacist at a university hospital, she moved to SMO company and then joined EPS Corporation in 2004. She was mainly involved in monitoring and project management for investigator-initiated clinical trials and clinical research She later became Deputy Head of the Clinical Research Promotion Center at EP-CRSU Co., Ltd., one of EPS’s group companies, and subsequently Deputy Head of the Center of the Pharmacovigilance Center at EPS Corporation. In October 2024, she was appointed as the head of the Department of Total Solution for Overseas Companies and Corporate Officer at EP-Bio Partners Co., Ltd.
Yuzo Yamamoto
Corporate Officer
After working as General Manager of the Data Science Division at EPS Corporation, he served as General Manager of the Human Resources Department of the company, and as Corporate Officer at E-Trial Co., Ltd. and EP-SOGO Co., Ltd., and as an outside director of EPS Yamanashi Co., Ltd. and EP-Mate Co., Ltd. At EPS Holdings, Inc. he served as General Manager of Planning and Promotion Department 1, promoting the improvement of the current business of the entire EPS Group, and WAY Promotion Manager, promoting the dissemination of EPSWAY, the management guideline of the EPS Group. Since April 2022, he has been responsible for promoting the Japan-China CRO business as a part-time Corporate Officer of EPS China Co., Ltd. and Corporate Officer of EPS Medical Consultancy (Japan) Co., Ltd.
Kotaro Nishio
Senior Corporate Officer
He has experience in sales of staffing & recruitment consulting service provider for R&D and clinical development, recruitment and business development at a CRO, and quality control in clinical development service at a CRO. At EPS Group, he serves as the head of the sales department for the CRO business specialized in clinical studies and investigator-initiated clinical trials, and leads the business supporting clinical studies planned by doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device companies in Japan. At EPS Medical Consultancy (Japan) Co., Ltd. he is responsible for creating and promoting IRO services in Japan. EPS Innovative Medicine (Japan) Co., Ltd.
Mr. Gao Feng
Board Member
He obtained a BSc degree from Peking University, and has extensive experience in corporate planning and management for companies in China. Other than considerable experience in corporate planning and management in China, he has held senior management positions in several Chinese multinational technology companies.
Prior to 2009, he served as vice president of Beijing Securities in Hong Kong, an expert member of the National Network Culture Standardization Technical Committee of China’s Ministry of Culture, and deputy researcher at the National Cultural Industry Innovation Research Base of Peking University’s Institute of Cultural Industries, where he participated in government-led industrial projects. In 2010, he was a senior consultant in Beijing Yu Sheng Tang, contributing to development of the company’s anti-influenza specialty Chinese herbal medicine “Jinhua Qinggan” and listing the company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange . From 2011 to 2012, he was a senior consultant for Xinhua News Agency, supporting the company’s listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. From 2014 to 2017, he served as Managing Director, Chairman of the Board and Senior Consultant at Yingsheng Science Co., Ltd. and was a major shareholder during the period. He participated in the establishment of Jianhao Fund Management Company in 2018, oversaw investing in Japanese companies and dedicated to listing of the company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Hiroaki Yamazaki
Corporate Officer
Hiroaki Yamazaki Joined a local construction company in April 1993. After working as an administrative staff at a construction site, he has been involved in human resources practice as a personnel manager since April 2000. After eight years of HR experience, he joined EPS Corporation. in May 2008. After being in charge of training, he became a full-time HR manager in 2011 and was in charge of overall personnel and labor affairs, gaining experiences and achievements, mainly in the planning and operation of personnel systems. After that, he served as the HR manager of EPS International Holdings Co., Ltd. in October 2019, EPS Innovative Medicine (Japan) Co., Ltd. in May 2022, and EPS Medical Consultancy (Japan) Co., Ltd. in June 2022.
Toshio Maruyama
Corporate Officer
After engaging in monitoring activities and planning domestic development strategies for clinical development of pharmaceuticals at both domestic and international pharmaceutical companies, he joined EPS Corporation in 2009. After joining, he held various positions including Head of the Monitoring Department, Head of the Data Science Department, and Head of the Clinical Development Promotion Department in the clinical development support services of the CRO. In October 2024, he was appointed as the Head of the Administration Department and Corporate Officer at EP-Bio Partners Co., Ltd.