From its humble beginnings as a sister research department to the Institute of Biomedical Research and Innovation in an office of the Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry Building in 2002, TRI has grown into an essential support centre for clinical studies in Japan. Operations were officially launched in June 2003, when staff moved into a newly constructed TRI Building located amid a group of other significant institutions in the Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster on Kobe’s Port Island.
Since then, TRI has engaged in a variety of programs commissioned by MEXT, including: ‘Research Promotion for Innovative Therapies against Cancer’ in 2002; the ‘Coordination, Support and Training Program for Translational Research’ in 2007; the ‘Translational Research Network Program’ in 2012; and the ‘Project of Translational and Clinical Research Core Centers’ in 2014.