Twenty years after its founding, TTCK's cross-disciplinary research and education has produced numerous talented, creative graduates and venture companies.
In 2003, Human Metabolome Technologies, Inc. was established with the metabolome analysis technology developed by TTCK at its core. In 2013, it was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers Index and has since won numerous honors, including the 2015 Japan Bio-Venture Award.
Spiber Inc., known for its successful development of artificial spider silk—something that not even the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA were able to achieve—is also a TTCK venture (see Juku SPRING 2021 No. 310 for more). TTCK has been responsible for a total of six venture companies, five of which are based in Tsuruoka City.
Both RIKEN and the National Cancer Center have recently established laboratories in Tsuruoka City and are engaged in research collaborations with the IAB. Due largely in part to TTCK, Tsuruoka is increasingly being recognized as a hotspot for advanced science and technology and a successful example of regional revitalization fueled by research and education.