Message from CEO
“Change the world with silkworms.” Does that sound like an exaggeration?
In the Meiji era (1868 – 1912), after Japan opened up to the world at the end of the Edo period, the trade commodity that introduced Japan to the world was raw silk produced by silkworms. However, with the passage of time, the role of silkworms diminished, and they eventually became insects that went largely unnoticed by people. Research was conducted at Kyushu University on giving silkworms a new role, and based on those research results, our company was founded in 2018.
From the time of our founding, we declared that we would make vaccines using silkworms, but we were constantly told “You can’t make medicine from insects. There’s no precedent for using them for human applications.” Even so, believing in the potential of silkworms, we continued development and succeeded in commercializing an oral vaccine (edible vaccine) that only silkworms can produce. We’ll start with an oral vaccine and feed additive for pigs, but our goal is to complete an oral vaccine for human use in the future.
KAICO has been supported by many people, and we have finally received research funding from the government as a next-generation vaccine modality for the next pandemic. It will still take time to realize a silkworm-derived vaccine for human use, but when that time comes, we believe it can save humanity from crises.
“Change the world with silkworms.”
Doesn’t that idea seem less like an exaggeration?
CEO Kenta Yamato
Team KAICO
Founder, CEO
Kenta Yamato
After working at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, POSCO, and serving as a Project Associate Professor at Kyushu University, he founded KAICO in 2018.
Director
Toru Haraguchi
Pharmacist, CEO of Pharmaunion LLC. (Present)
As a board member of a pharmaceutical professional association, he has deep knowledge and insight regarding the pharmaceutical field, as well as management experience in the industry.
Outside Director
Yasuhisa Yamaguchi
Executive Vice-President of FFG Venture Business Partners (Present)
From his many years of investment experience, he has insight not just into finance but also overall management.
Auditor
Megumi Takata
Professor, Kyushu University Graduate Department of Economic Research
He also serves as the director of the Entrepreneurship Center and has deep insight into startup management.
CTO
Masahiro Taniguchi
He is responsible for formulating and managing the overall technical strategy, ranging from contract protein expression to the development of vaccines.
PhD., Pharmacist
CFO
Yuki Kumazaki
She has experience in loan management improvement services at the Eighteenth Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting. As CFO, she is responsible for fundraising and financial management.
General Manager
Yo Nakahara
As a General Manager, he oversees departments, promotes the quality management system, and works to improve organizational performance.
Senior Manager, Quality Assurance
Keiichi Esaki
He has been involved in product development based on research results, and has contributed to establishing a manufacturing management system for stable supply.
Senior Manager, Research & Development
Tomoki Sasaki
He has been involved in establishing the production technology foundation and evaluation methods for vaccines and supplements.
Manager, Production Development
Hirokazu Nakatake
He has contributed to contract protein expression using the silkworm-baculovirus system, as well as the production of reagents and feed.
Manager, Quality Assurance
Keiko Sakai
Previously, she was involved in industrialization research, manufacturing, quality control, and quality assurance operations at an API manufacturing company. At KAICO, she is in charge of quality assurance duties.