Professor Hiroaki Suga wins the 2nd Kobe Prize Grand Award
Professor Hiroaki Suga of the Department of Chemistry was selected as the recipient of the 2nd Kobe Prize Grand Prix. The Kobe Prize was established by the Nakatani Foundation to commemorate the 40th anniversary of its establishment and is awarded to researchers for original research in biomedical engineering, a field integrating life sciences and engineering.
Receiving this prize is an acknowledgment of Professor Suga’s pioneering work on nonstandard peptides and their applications in drug development, from basic and applied research to innovative social implementation. He has developed the “RaPID (Random nonstandard Peptide Integrated Discovery) platform” technology, which allows for the translation and synthesis of macrocyclic peptides consisting of non-proteinogenic amino acids isolated from mRNA using “flexizymes” (artificial ribozymes). What made these developments possible is the basic research conducted by Professor Suga on how to freely reprogram the universal genetic code shared by living organisms. This technology makes it possible to quickly and efficiently probe drugs that bind strongly to disease-causing target proteins, pioneering the field of “nonstandard peptide-based pharmaceuticals” or “middle molecule pharmaceuticals.” The technology has accelerated basic and applied research, the discovery of diverse protein inhibitors and activators, and their mechanisms of action.
Thanks to its unprecedented versatility, it is now widely used for drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry in Japan and abroad. Professor Suga was also awarded the Wolf Prize in 2023 and the Japan Academy Prize in 2024.
The 2nd Kobe Prize
（Written by Tatsuya Tsukuda, Professor/Director, Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science）
【Comment from the Winner, Professor Hiroaki Suga, Department of Chemistry】
It is a great honor to receive the Kobe Prize. I would like to thank both my internal and external collaborators, the many outstanding students, researchers, and laboratory staff. Together with the members of my lab, we will continue our efforts in basic and applied research for the development of science and technology in Japan.
Receiving this prize is an acknowledgment of Professor Suga’s pioneering work on nonstandard peptides and their applications in drug development, from basic and applied research to innovative social implementation. He has developed the “RaPID (Random nonstandard Peptide Integrated Discovery) platform” technology, which allows for the translation and synthesis of macrocyclic peptides consisting of non-proteinogenic amino acids isolated from mRNA using “flexizymes” (artificial ribozymes). What made these developments possible is the basic research conducted by Professor Suga on how to freely reprogram the universal genetic code shared by living organisms. This technology makes it possible to quickly and efficiently probe drugs that bind strongly to disease-causing target proteins, pioneering the field of “nonstandard peptide-based pharmaceuticals” or “middle molecule pharmaceuticals.” The technology has accelerated basic and applied research, the discovery of diverse protein inhibitors and activators, and their mechanisms of action.
Thanks to its unprecedented versatility, it is now widely used for drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry in Japan and abroad. Professor Suga was also awarded the Wolf Prize in 2023 and the Japan Academy Prize in 2024.
The 2nd Kobe Prize
（Written by Tatsuya Tsukuda, Professor/Director, Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science）
【Comment from the Winner, Professor Hiroaki Suga, Department of Chemistry】
It is a great honor to receive the Kobe Prize. I would like to thank both my internal and external collaborators, the many outstanding students, researchers, and laboratory staff. Together with the members of my lab, we will continue our efforts in basic and applied research for the development of science and technology in Japan.
