Tohru Kino

Tohru Kino (木野 亨, Kino Tōru) is a Japanese chemist and pharmacologist, best known for his discovery of tacrolimus.

While working for Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Company in the 1980s (Astellas Pharma today), Kino and his colleagues found that FK-506 (now called tacrolimus), which is produced by the soil bacterium Streptomyces tsukubaensisis, could be expected to be an immunosuppressive drug.[1]

For his achievement, Kino received the Prime Minister Award from the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation in 2004.[2]

References

  1. Kino, T; Hatanaka, H; Hashimoto, M; Nishiyama, M; Goto, T; Okuhara, M; Kohsaka, M; Aoki, H; Imanaka, H (1987). "FK-506, a novel immunosuppressant isolated from a Streptomyces. I. Fermentation, isolation, and physico-chemical and biological characteristics". The Journal of antibiotics. 40 (9): 1249–55. PMID 2445721. doi:10.7164/antibiotics.40.1249.
  2. 全国発明表彰 平成16年受賞者一覧 第一表彰区分 (in Japanese)
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