About

Develop our proprietary technologies and cells, “highly stable and functional induced-Tregs (S/F-iTregs)”, as the leader of Treg development.

Cure and eradicate intractable autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases, and transplant rejection with safe & outstandingly effective therapies.

We are committed to achieving our goals of:

• We are enabling antigen-specific suppression of autoimmunity.
• We are reducing the requirement for chronic usage of immunosuppressive drugs. Many currently used immunosuppressive agents for managing autoimmunity and transplantation carry severe side effects, including cardiac toxicity, serious infections, and secondary malignancies. 
• Transform the treatment of autoimmune diseases and organ failure.

Shimon Sakaguchi, the discoverer of regulatory T (Treg) cells, has studied Treg cells for over forty years, mainly basic biology on how they develop in the immune system and suppress unwanted immune responses such as autoimmune disease and allergy. He believes that our basic knowledge about the development and function of Treg cells has now accumulated sufficiently to allow us to make Treg-based immunotherapy a reality in the clinic. For this reason, he has started RegCell, which aims to develop a novel Treg cell therapy to treat autoimmune diseases (for example, type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis) that afflict approximately 10% of the population worldwide. T cells mediate tissue damage in many autoimmune diseases, and natural Treg cells can inhibit the development of autoimmune diseases and suppress disease progression. Through efforts to make Treg cells more effective in controlling autoimmune diseases, Sakaguchi and RegCell have taken the unique approach of converting disease-mediating T cells in patients with autoimmune disease into Treg cells with potent disease-specific immune suppressive activity and then transferring the converted Treg cells back to the patients to control and potentially cure the disease. Professor Sakaguchi hopes to refine this new therapy for autoimmune disease and establish it as an effective treatment for chronic autoimmune diseases and other immunological disorders.

The immune system protects our bodies from viruses and other foreign substances and functions through many cells fulfilling their respective roles. However, this system does not eliminate all that is non-self but operates in a manner that is beneficial to the existence of the organism. The mechanism that identifies foreign substances to be eliminated and attacks them to protect the self is very complex. The immune system is a dense, integrated network of many interrelated cells, yet not fragile, and it has the complexity to deal with various foreign substances. 

Regulatory T (Treg) cells are master regulators of the human immune system. They are the cells that regulate immunity, optimizing immune function by ensuring self-tolerance. RegCell aims to develop a new concept of treatment that cures diseases by restoring the body’s natural immune power through Tregs. Furthermore, our treatment approach can potentially be applied to various immune-related disorders. Therefore, we strive to continue our research and development, hoping that by realizing this concept, we can create a future free of autoimmune diseases.

We are often overwhelmed and inspired by the complexity and efficiency of our immune systems. By normalizing dysregulated immune systems, we aspire to create a tomorrow that is full of hope. We will continue to strive toward a better world in the future humbly.

Yasuhiko Handa President and Chief Executive Officer

Noriko Sakaguchi, M.D. Representative director, Executive Vice President

Daisuke Ishikawa, Ph.D. Chief Operating Officer

Shu Narumiya, M.D. Ph.D. External director, Professor at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine

Atsushi Usami, Ph.D. External director, Partner and board director, The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners Co., Ltd.

Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi is a Distinguished Professor of Osaka University and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Sakaguchi is renowned for discovering regulatory T cells (Tregs), which can prevent autoimmunity. He is the world’s authority on Treg biology and function. He was designated as a Person of Cultural Merit by the Japanese Government in 2017 and has been awarded many international acknowledgments, including Cancer Research Institute’s William B. Coley Award, Keio Medical Science Prize, Canada Gairdner International Award, Swedish Crafoord Prize, Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, and the Robert Koch Award. In addition, he received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2009 and the Order of Culture, the highest accolade for Japanese scholars, in 2019 from the Emperor of Japan.