Exhibition & Speaking Engagement: Epistra Exhibited at Pharma IT & Digital Health Expo, CEO Ozawa Delivered Invited Lecture

Epistra Inc. exhibited at the “Pharma IT & Digital Health Expo,” held at Tokyo Big Sight from April 21 to 23, 2026, and CEO Yosuke Ozawa delivered an invited lecture at the Pharma IT Seminar.

Event Overview

The Pharma IT & Digital Health Expo is an exhibition showcasing the latest IT and AI technologies in drug discovery, pharmaceutical development, and digital health. Epistra exhibited at booth 8H-06 in the Drug Discovery & Development Pavilion, presenting its suite of AI-driven process optimization solutions.

Booth Highlights

Our booth featured four themes:

Epistra Accelerate — A platform that applies mathematical optimization and AI to accelerate experimental condition search in drug discovery and bioprocess development.

EpistraVision — A solution that automates and streamlines the operation of life science instruments, including microscopes, using AI. Co-developed with Evident Corporation for integration with the FLUOVIEW Smart™.

AI Custom Media Development & Manufacturing Service — A service that uses mathematical optimization and AI to custom-design optimal media compositions for culturing cells and microorganisms, delivered in collaboration with the Shimadzu Group.

Contract Development & Data Analysis — Engineering support that involves designing and implementing AI utilization and optimization algorithms tailored to each customer’s challenges.

Visitor Response

The booth attracted many visitors actively involved in R&D in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and research instrument sectors. The strong interest in AI that is practically applicable in real R&D environments was evident throughout the event. Our published case studies — including the collaboration with Astellas Pharma Inc. (Interview #04) and the co-development with Evident’s FLUOVIEW Smart™ (Interview #05) — generated substantial discussion.

Invited Lecture: “Drug Development as a Series of Optimal Design Problems”

On Thursday, April 23, from 14:00 to 14:30, CEO Yosuke Ozawa delivered an invited lecture at the Pharma IT Seminar (Session 8J-21, East Hall 8). The talk was titled “Drug Development as a Series of Optimal Design Problems: The Current State of AI-Driven Process Optimization.”

The lecture mapped out the “optimization problems” present at each stage of drug discovery and bioprocess development, and presented the changes that AI-driven process optimization is bringing to R&D, illustrated with specific case studies from Epistra.

The session was well-attended, with most seats filled. The event reinforced the sense that the shift from experience- and intuition-based process development to a data-driven approach is a challenge shared across the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.