Mak Inoue | CEO
Infirmacea Inc.

Mak Inoue, Ph.D., is a drug discovery executive and scientist with approximately 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical research, innovation, and external collaboration. He is the Founder and CEO of Infirmacea Inc., a preclinical-stage biotechnology company developing safe and accessible DNA medicines for rare and chronic diseases. At Infirmacea, Dr. Inoue has developed a needle-free intramuscular DNA medicine platform aimed at addressing the longstanding challenge of low transfection efficiency associated with non-viral DNA medicines. His work combines proprietary gene-expression technology with non-viral DNA delivery to enable efficient gene expression at low doses. Prior to founding Infirmacea, Dr. Inoue spent approximately 20 years at Astellas Pharma, where he held leadership roles spanning small-molecule drug discovery and optimization, oligonucleotide and gene delivery research, gene therapy technology scouting and external innovation, and research–manufacturing liaison. His broad experience covers drug discovery from early research through cross-functional and external development activities. Dr. Inoue received his Ph.D. in Chemical Biology from Kyoto University and conducted research as a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, San Diego, focusing on macromolecule delivery into cells.