Explore the necessary enzymes from open data.
First of all, please tell us about your company's business.
digzyme ：Our business is enzymes. Specifically, we provide a service that reads the vast amount of life science research data that sleeps in the world and design the industrial enzymes required by customers efficiently and quickly. The company name is a combination of English "digging" and "-zyme" (suffix indicating enzyme)". Currently, we are trying to find promising enzyme candidates from open data, further utilizing AI to improve functions and redesign them to a form that matches the purpose of use, then actually synthesize it to verify activity, productivity, and stability, and establish a path to mass production. We also provide enzyme development consulting services.
digzyme Izumi ：However, there is no plan to own an actual production plant in-house. Our business style is fabless (a business model that does not have production facilities and outsource manufacturing to subcontractors). Therefore, our role is to build a system for mass production of excellent enzymes.
Could you tell us about the uniqueness of your business?
digzyme ：Our uniqueness lies in the fact that we use open data to efficiently design the enzymes in silico. Various research data related to life sciences are collected and stored around the world every day. From my experience of uploading a large amount of gene data in research on koji mold, is there any way to effectively utilize the large amount of data accumulated on a daily basis? I always thought about it. In particular, enzymes are used in various industries, and we had the opportunity to conduct joint research with companies, so I felt that "the distance to social implementation is short."
digzyme Izumi ：In recent years, the role of enzymes has begun to attract attention in industries that have never used enzymes. For example, in the chemical industry, there is a growing demand for enzymes that decompose petroleum-derived products such as plastics. We intend to take a proactive approach to these trends. On the other hand, we believe that there is plenty of room to create new value with our technology even in industries that have long been using enzymes, such as food and detergents. Therefore, we intend to pursue a wide range of possibilities for enzymes, without establishing specific industrial areas.
Are there any difficulties in your current business development?
digzyme, Mr.: In the first place, it seems that you know what "enzyme" is, and it is not surprisingly known. In a nutshell, it is a "protein that acts as a catalyst," but in fact it has a variety of catalytic functions that we did not know before. Looking at the original data, the "enzyme that decomposes resin" that we discovered did not write such a function anywhere, but we succeeded when we tried it. There are many such examples. The key is to let people know more about the possibilities of enzymes.
digzyme Izumi: When I actually talk about it, many customers say, "I don't know what I can do with enzymes." In particular, industries that have never been related to enzymes, the more tendencies. On the other hand, globally, demand for industrial enzymes is very large, and the enzyme industry is overwhelmingly the seller market. The world's largest industry is incomparable to add all the sales of Japanese enzyme-related companies. In the future, we want to become one of Japan's leading figures.
Mitsui Link Lab Kasai is a facility for lab.
Could you tell me how you moved into Mitsui Link Lab Kasai?
digzyme, Mr.: At first, I learned through an investor. When I started my business, I was doing research in the open-use room of Tokyo Institute of Technology, but as research progressed, it became necessary to have my own lab, so while I was looking for labs and offices, I arrived at Mitsui Link Lab Kasai. The decisive factors for moving in were the rent and area. The communication environment in the lab is also well maintained, and the structure of the building is solid. I have the impression that it is completely different from a normal office building.
Please let me know if there are any advantages of the lab that you actually moved in.
digzyme, Mr.: At first, I learned through an investor. When I started my business, I was doing research in the open-use room of Tokyo Institute of Technology, but as research progressed, it became necessary to have my own lab, so while I was looking for labs and offices, I arrived at Mitsui Link Lab Kasai. The decisive factors for moving in were the rent and area. The communication environment in the lab is also well maintained, and the structure of the building is solid. I have the impression that it is completely different from a normal office building.
digzyme, Mr.: There are many requests to actually see things, and we will guide you to Mitsui Link Lab Kasai, but everyone is surprised that it's a very good facility. Due to the characteristics of the bioinformatics business, the main work is performed using supercomputers, but even if you look at the computer screen, it is difficult for the outsiders to understand. Therefore, it is important to invite you to the laboratory to observe the actual culture process. I would like to continue to actively invite visitors to the future.
In the future, Kasai Lab will also take steps to consider production.
What are your goals and prospects for the future?
digzyme, Mr.: In the development of enzymes, it is important that the enzyme itself not only has excellent functions but can be produced efficiently and at low cost, and that mass production can ensure the same quality and stability as laboratory prototypes. In order to confirm this, it is necessary to actually repeat the prototype again and again. In the future, by introducing a medium-scale production facility of several tens of liters in Kasai Lab, we plan to establish a system that enables integrated verification at our own laboratory until the verification of stability during mass production.
Eventually, I would like to achieve the first example of "creating effective enzymes from open data and launching it as a product." We believe that our technology is also useful for precision fermentation. In fact, there are few companies that have succeeded in precision fermentation (a technology to create the target substance using fermentation of microorganisms with specific genes inserted specific genes). We will continue to develop technology and contribute to the commercialization of precision fermentation. By taking on leadership, I would like to become a company in the future that is said to be "digzymes are different" in the future.
digzyme Izumi: In the future, I would like to expand "horizontal cooperation" in the future. Until now, we have not been able to create horizontal connections, but we will continue to have opportunities to get to know our business to the outside, such as this interview, and in the future we would like to make connections with people in healthcare, chemical, environmental, and bio-manufacturing.
