The US-based Ig Nobel Prize honors original and humorous research. In September 2024, a group led by Professor Takanori Takebe of Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly Tokyo Medical and Dental University), which discovered “enteral ventilation,” the ability of mammals to breathe oxygen through the anus, received the Physiology Prize. EVA Therapeutics, Inc. (EVA Therapeutics) is researching and developing medical devices for enteral ventilation to use this research in medical practice. We spoke with CEO Hiromu Ozaki, who wants to bring it into practical use as soon as possible.
Enteral ventilation: an effective way to support breathing in patients with respiratory failure
EVA Therapeutics is a startup originating from Institute of Science Tokyo. It was founded in June 2021 to put the “enteral ventilation” technology of Professor Takebe’s research team into practice in medical settings.
To explain enteral ventilation simply: mammals such as humans normally breathe with their lungs, taking in air through the mouth and nose and sending oxygen into the blood through the lungs. Professor Takebe’s group discovered that mammals can take oxygen into the blood from the large intestine, without going through the lungs.
If this research is established as a medical technology, it could be used to save lives, for example patients who have fallen into respiratory failure because of lung disease, or babies with extremely low birth weight. Respiratory therapy for babies born with immature lungs has its limits, and in many cases babies are left with some kind of disability or die.
Believing that enteral ventilation is effective in such cases, EVA Therapeutics is currently making the development of medical devices for newborns, where expectations are especially high, its top priority.
Now in clinical trials, aiming for early use in society
EVA-101, the enteral ventilation medical device under development, is like a bag similar to an IV bag, filled with a high-density liquid (PFD), with an enema nozzle attached. The liquid is loaded with oxygen, injected into the patient’s anus through a dedicated tube, and left in the intestine.
For an adult weighing 50 kg, for example, 500 to 1,000 cc of liquid is injected. The oxygen contained in the liquid then allows one to two hours of enteral ventilation. The used liquid is discharged from the body and replaced with new liquid. Because a large amount of liquid needs to be replaced for adults, we believe further development is needed, such as circulating it.
For a newborn weighing 3,000 g, for example, 30 to 50 cc of liquid is injected. We expect this to allow about four to six hours of enteral ventilation. We will confirm this through further clinical trials, but if it is effective for four hours, replacing the liquid six times a day would provide breathing support through the intestine for a newborn.
In Japan, about 15,000 babies a year are born needing breathing support (*). In many cases, once the baby grows and lung function develops, treatment with enteral ventilation is no longer needed. EVA-101 plays a supporting role until then, and we believe that if it is realized, it will certainly save more lives.
A clinical trial in healthy adult men is currently under way and is expected to finish in March 2025. Going forward, we plan to prepare for clinical trials in newborns with the cooperation of specialized medical institutions such as the National Center for Child Health and Development and Institute of Science Tokyo.
(*) Source: MDV Analyzer, 2023
https://www.mdv.co.jp/solution/pharmaceutical/analyzer.html
Also helping with the declining birthrate faced by many developed countries
I worked at Fujisawa Pharmaceutical (now Astellas Pharma) and was in charge of business development in North America for more than 25 years. After leaving, I served as president of several biotech ventures in the United States and Japan, and since 2016, as a self-employed pharmaceutical business development consultant, I have helped Western companies enter Japan. I have more than 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
Every year, a huge number of research seeds are born in pharmaceuticals and medical technology, but only a handful can be put into use in society. First, they are strictly screened at the research stage for efficacy and safety, animal studies are conducted after sufficient evaluation, and only those that pass further screening there can move on to clinical trials in humans.
That long process requires large development costs. EVA-101 is a technology that saves babies’ lives and can also address the declining birthrate that many developed countries face. Going forward, in addition to investment from companies and others, we hope to obtain government grants.
Professor Takebe is one of the young researchers attracting worldwide attention in regenerative medicine research using iPS cells. The professor is also full of entrepreneurial spirit and has conducted a great deal of joint research with companies.
There are two reasons I founded EVA Therapeutics with my colleagues. One is that I saw great potential in this highly original research. The other, and above all, is that I believed there was a social need for it.
In 2024, Professor Takebe’s research team won the Ig Nobel Prize and received a lot of media coverage. As a result, people outside the medical and pharmaceutical industries learned about enteral ventilation research, and our business has also been attracting attention. Riding this momentum, we want to keep raising our level of development toward early commercialization.
How We Used OIH
Being selected for the 16th cohort of the OIH Startup Acceleration Program “OSAP” and receiving hands-on support from excellent mentors was very valuable. We were also given the opportunity to exhibit at the startup conference “SusHi Tech Tokyo 2024” as a startup representing Kansai. In 2025, as a winner of the “HeCNOS AWARD,” we will exhibit at the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. Making the most of these opportunities, we want to keep moving the business steadily forward as a university-born startup.
Interview date: October 29, 2024
(Interview and text: Aya Iwamura)