Singapore, June 13 -- Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide drug-discovery startups inJapanwith support in their efforts to go global. The pair aims to strengthenJapan'sposition as a global hub for drug discovery and foster the growth of its startups that can thrive globally.

The new support represents multiple programmes under the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's Medical Innovation Support Office (MEDISO), which looks to address the lack of practical application ofJapan'sadvanced life-sciences technologies.

Mitsubishi Research Institute has been entrusted to operate MEDISO since 2018 and has been helping promising drug-discovery startups commer...