- About Us
- Management
Management

Kohichiro Yoshino, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Representative Director
Dr. Yoshino is the President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Representative Director of Carna Biosciences. He founded Carna Biosciences in 2003 as a spin-out venture from Nippon Organon, a subsidiary of N.V. Organon where he was the head of the Osaka Research Center. As a member of Organon Research Committee, Dr. Yoshino contributed to research and development of NV Organon. Before joining Nippon Organon, he engaged in the research and development of small molecule drugs at Kanebo Corporation Inc. From 2004 to 2008, he was a Visiting Professor at Center for Advanced Science and Innovation, Osaka University. He earned M.S. in Chemistry from the Graduate School of Tokyo Institute of Technology and Ph.D. from Kyoto University.

Norio Aikawa
Head of Drug Discovery and Support Business
Head of IP and Legal Department
Director
Mr. Aikawa, a member of the board of directors, heads Drug Discovery Support Business. He also serves as the director of Intellectual Property and Legal Department. He is one of the founding member of Carna Biosciences. Mr. Aikawa has a long and extensive experience in the area of intellectual property and has contributed to strengthening Carna’s IP strategy. Before joining Carna in 2003, he was the head of Intellectual Property Department at Nippon Organon. Before that, he was the head of Intellectual Property Department at Kanebo Corporation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Science from Hirosaki University.

Masaaki Sawa, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Director
Dr. Sawa is the Chief Scientific Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. He built the current drug discovery group at Carna. Before joining Carna, he held positions at Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. Prior to that, he was a medicinal chemist at Nippon Organon, a subsidiary of N.V. Organon. From 2004 to 2006, he was a visiting scientist at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego. Dr. Sawa was a Visiting Professor at Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University from 2013 to 2015. He received his Ph.D. from Kyoto University.

Emi Yamamoto
Chief Financial Officer, Director
President of CarnaBio USA, Inc.
Ms. Yamamoto is the Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. She joined Carna Biosciences in 2004 after engaged in fund administration at CSK Venture Capital. She built Carna’s accounting and business management group and held a responsible role in Carna’s IPO. Since 2017, she leads administration group, in charge of accounting, finance, human resources, and corporate planning. Ms. Yamamoto holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Aoyama Gakuin University, and a Certified Public Accountant.

Akinori Arimura, Ph.D.
Chief Development Officer
Director
Dr. Arimura is the Chief Development Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. He joined Carna Biosciences in 2018 as head of newly established clinical development department and has since established Carna’s clinical development capability both in Japan and in the U.S. Prior to joining Carna, Dr. Arimura led the global development of anticancer drugs at Shionogi & Co., Ltd, with responsibility for planning and implementing the clinical studies as well as for collaboration with biotech companies. Prior to that, he engaged in the drug discovery research at Shionogi as head of allergy, immunology and oncology areas. He was a visiting scientist at Columbia University, where he was recognized for his achievement in Molecular Immunology research. Dr. Arimura received his Ph.D. from Gifu Pharmaceutical University.

Kaoru Suzuki, Ph.D.
Outside Director
Dr. Suzuki joined the Board of Directors of Carna Biosciences in 2024. Before joining Carna, Dr. Suzuki held key senior positions in business development and partnering at Roche Pharma Japan, Roche Partnering. He was the representative of Roche Pharma Japan, Roche Partnering and the Japan/Korea Business Development Head from 2010 to 2022 and has been serving as a Senior Advisor since 2022. Prior to that, he engaged in research & development, business development and licensing activities at Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Dr. Suzuki earned a M.S. in Pharmacy from the Graduate School of Tokyo University of Science and his Ph.D. in Medicine from the Jikei University School of Medicine.

Atsuo Arita
Outside Director
Before joining the Board of Directors in 2020, Mr. Arita served as External Auditor of Carna Biosciences from 2004 to 2020, overseeing its management as a full-time company auditor. He held various responsible roles in accounting, finance, and sales management at Kanebo Corporation Ltd. and was the head of business management at Kanebo. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business and Commerce from Keio University.

Tsuguo Ogasawara
Outside Director
Mr. Ogasawara served as External Auditor of Carna Biosciences from 2005 to 2020 before joining the Board of Directors in 2020. He has brought Carna his extensive experience in international business. He was a Director at Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., in charge of international business. Prior to that, he was engaged in business management, finance, and international business at Toray Industries, Inc. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Keio University.

Teruo Takayanagi, Ph.D.
Outside Director
Dr. Takayanagi joined the Board of Directors of Carna Biosciences in 2015. He was the Director of Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. from 2001 to 2006 where he engaged in the R&D management and led post-marketing surveillance to promote proper use of its pharmaceutical products. He also held a responsible role in business integration with Sankyo. He was a full-time Auditor of Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited from 2007 to 2011. Dr. Takayanagi is currently the Auditor of Japanese Society of Drug Informatics. Dr. Takayanagi received his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo.

Takao Matsui
Outside Director
Mr. Matsui served as External Auditor of Carna Biosciences since 2019 to 2020 before joining the Board of Directors in 2020. He has over 35 years of experience in financial audit and related advisory business. He served as Certified Public Accountant at KPMG AZSA LLC. from 1982 to 2018. Mr. Matsui also currently serves as Outside Director of AIR WATER, INC. He was a Specially Appointed Professor at School of Accountancy, Kansai University since April 2018 to March 2020. He is a part-time lecturer at Kansai University and School of Accountancy, Kansai University since April 2020. Mr. Matsui holds a bachelor’s degree in School of Business Administration from Kwansei Gakuin University, and a Certified Public Accountant.