Kihito Takahashi,
MD, PhD

Dr. Kihito Takahashi serves as Vice President and Senior Managing Director of Japan Development and Medical Affairs, GlaxoSmithKline Japan. He graduated from Hokkaido University School of Medicine, and completed internal medicine and cardiology training at the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine of Hokkaido University. After receiving his PhD in Medical Science from Hokkaido University, he became a postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbild University School of Medicine and was subsequently appointed as Research Assitant Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University; his primary research field was investigating the pathophysiological roles of prostaglandins and leukotioenes in microcirculatory disorders. Dr. Takahashi previously served at Merck Research Laboratories and was appointed as Director for Clinical Research at Banyu Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Merck & Co in Japan. He also served as Vice President, Merck Research Laboratories, supervising numerous drug development projects. After retiring from Merck, he served as a President & CEO of the bio-venture company LOTUS Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Dr. Takahashi has been actively involved in industry activities and organizations including the International Federation of Associations of Pharmaceutical Physicians & Pharmaceutical Medicine (IFAPP), and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. He has also served as Chairman of the Japanese Association of Pharmaceutical Medicine (JAPhMed, a national member of IFAPP), and is currently a Councilor of JAPhMed.