A Pharma Talks Interview with Yo (Max) Amakusa, CEO of iBody
1. The evolution of iBody
Jens Kurth: iBody initially focused on therapeutic antibodies before successfully expanding into diagnostic antibodies. What led to this strategic shift, and what opportunities did you see that others perhaps overlooked?
Amakusa-san: Initially, our goal was to use our proprietary antibody discovery platform to develop our own therapeutic antibodies. We continue to explore opportunities in therapeutics today, but along the way, our rabbit antibody discovery technology began attracting strong interest from diagnostic companies and bioanalytics researchers, who consistently need highly functional antibodies for product development and analytical applications.
In particular, we found strong demand for antibodies that can distinguish very subtle molecular differences—such as small-molecule antigens, single amino acid mutations, and phosphorylation—with both extremely high specificity and affinity. These characteristics are particularly valuable in diagnostic and detection applications. Recognizing this opportunity, we actively expanded our business into diagnostics and bioanalytics, where the strengths of our technology can directly address unmet needs.
2. Diagnostic Antibodies
Jens Kurth: How do you see the role of diagnostic antibodies evolving over the next five to ten years?
Amakusa-san: I believe diagnostic antibodies will become more sensitive, more specific, and more versatile.
Today, many diagnostic tests focus on detecting a single biomarker. In the future, I think we will see more multiplex testing, where several biomarkers are measured at the same time.
Diagnostics will also move closer to patients through point-of-care and rapid testing.
As diagnostics become more advanced, the performance of the antibody itself will become even more important. Better antibodies will enable faster, more accurate, and more informative diagnostics.
3. Precision Medicine
Jens Kurth: As precision medicine continues to evolve, where do you believe diagnostic antibodies will have the greatest clinical impact?
Amakusa-san: I believe the greatest impact will be in selecting the right treatment for each patient.
Patients with the same disease may respond very differently to the same treatment. Diagnostic antibodies can help identify specific biomarkers that tell us which patients are most likely to benefit from a particular therapy.
They can also help monitor how a patient is responding to treatment and detect changes in the disease over time.
So, I see diagnostic antibodies becoming an important bridge between diagnosis and treatment — helping us move toward the right treatment for the right patient at the right time.
4. Japan vs Europe
Jens Kurth: Having built iBody in Japan, what differences do you see between the Japanese and European innovation ecosystems?
Amakusa-san: One difference I see is the role of regional biotech clusters.
In Europe, biotech clusters are very active, and companies, universities, investors, and other organizations are well connected within each region.
At the same time, because European countries are geographically close and well connected, these networks can easily expand across borders. A company in Belgium, for example, can naturally work with partners in France, Germany, Switzerland, or other countries.
In Japan, we tend to build the ecosystem mainly within Japan. Europe, on the other hand, has a strong advantage in building cross-border ecosystems and looking at the European market as a whole.
I think this creates more opportunities for collaboration and makes it easier for biotech companies to think internationally from an early stage.
5. Partnering
Jens Kurth: What makes a pharmaceutical or diagnostics company an attractive partner for iBody?
Amakusa-san: iBody is an antibody discovery technology company. We do not have our own therapeutic or diagnostic targets.
So, for us, the ideal partner is a company whose strengths complement ours. Our partners bring their targets, disease knowledge, and development expertise, while we bring our antibody discovery technology.
The goal can be either drug discovery or diagnostic development. Both are important to us.
Most importantly, we want to build long-term partnerships. Rather than working together on just one project, we want to contribute to the development of many products over time.
I believe the best partnerships are those where both sides bring different strengths and create value together.
6. Lessons learned
Jens Kurth: Looking back over the past years as CEO, what has been your biggest lesson in building strategic partnerships?
Amakusa-san: The biggest lesson I have learned is that a strong partnership must create value for both sides.
A good example is our strategic capital and business partnership with TAUNS, a Japanese diagnostics company.
We contribute to their product development through our antibody discovery technology. At the same time, their investment allows us to further improve our technology and strengthen our business.
As our technology becomes stronger, we can create even more value for TAUNS and other partners.
So, for me, the best partnership is not simply about exchanging technology or money. It is about creating a win-win relationship where both companies can grow together over the long term.
7. Innovation
Jens Kurth: What trends in antibody discovery or diagnostics excite you most today?
Amakusa-san: AI is a topic we hear about everywhere today, but I am very excited about its potential in antibody discovery.
We have already started feasibility studies to combine AI with our experimental antibody discovery approach.
By combining AI-based prediction and design with our experimental technology, we believe we can discover better and more valuable antibodies.
Ultimately, our goal is not simply to use AI. Our goal is to use the best combination of AI and experimental approaches to improve and accelerate the development of new therapeutics and diagnostics.
8. Leadership
Jens Kurth: How do you balance scientific excellence with commercial execution?
Amakusa-san: One of the unique strengths of iBody is the combination of science and business.
iBody was founded by scientists, and I later joined the company with many years of business experience.
My role is to translate the scientific value created from university research into services and messages that the market can understand, and ultimately into real value for society.
By bringing our technology into real-world drug and diagnostic development, we gain experience, learn from our partners, and continuously improve and refine our technology.
I believe an important role of leadership is to create this positive cycle: great science creates real-world value, and real-world experience makes the science even better.
9. Europe
Jens Kurth: Why is Europe strategically important for iBody’s future?
Amakusa-san: Europe is strategically very important for iBody because it has a strong ecosystem in both pharmaceutical and diagnostic development.
There are many world-leading pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies, innovative biotech companies, and excellent research institutions across Europe.
For iBody, Europe is not simply a market where we want to sell our antibody discovery services. We want to build strong partnerships and become part of the European innovation ecosystem.
By working closely with European partners we can bring our antibody discovery technology into more drug and diagnostic development programs, learn from those collaborations, and continue to improve our technology.
So, Europe is an important part of our long-term global growth strategy.
10. Advice
Jens Kurth: What advice would you give entrepreneurs building innovative life science companies today?
Amakusa-san: My advice is: don’t focus only on your technology.
In life science, we often start with great science or innovative technology. But great technology alone does not create a successful company.
You need to understand what real problem your technology can solve, who needs it, and how you can deliver that value to them.
It is also very important to listen to customers and partners. Their feedback can help you improve not only your business, but also your technology.
So, my advice is to go outside the lab, talk to people, and test your ideas in the real world as early as possible.
Great science is the starting point. Turning it into real value is what builds a company.
Closing question
„Looking back over your career, what is one lesson you wish you had learned much earlier about building international collaborations?“
If I could go back, I would start building international relationships much earlier.
Especially since the COVID pandemic, online meetings have become a normal part of business. They are very useful, but I have learned that face-to-face communication is still extremely important.
And it is not enough to meet someone just once. Meeting people again and again, visiting their companies, and spending time together builds a much deeper level of trust.
I have learned that international collaboration is not created simply by having good technology or a good business proposal. In the end, it is built on trust between people.
Once that trust is established, new opportunities often come naturally, sometimes in ways you never expected.
So, if I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be: go out into the world, meet people face-to-face, and keep building those relationships over time.
The interview took place on 27 August 2026.