Japan Writing in the July issue of DIA’s Global Forum magazine Pfizer R&D Japan’s Atsushi Kitamura examines how both pharmaceutical companies and patients in Japan can help increase patient engagement in the clinical trial process.   Patient engagement in clinical trials in Japan has been progressing steadily in the last few…

Japan Writing in the June edition of DIA’s Global Forum magazine, representatives of Japanese pharmaceutical companies with US operations outline how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their ongoing clinical studies.   The spread of COVID-19 and the resulting social activity restrictions have severely impacted drug development and threatened the continuity of clinical…

Japan “This marks a significant moment in Takeda’s history and is an exciting step forward as we accelerate our transformation journey,” said Christophe Weber, Takeda’s CEO, after the USD 62 billion acquisition of international biotech Shire was completed in 2019. Two years later, the Japanese giant appears to finally be on…

Asia-Pacific Writing in the May edition of DIA’s Global Forum magazine, Toshiyoshi Tominaga of the Asia-Pacific Self-Medication Industry (APSMI) looks at the landscape for OTC medicines in the Asia-Pacific region today. Tominaga highlights how, against the backdrop of a drop in formal medical interventions due to COVID-19 infection fears, countries are more than…

Japan Toshio Fujimoto, MD, MBA, the General Manager of Shonan Health Innovation Park examines why Japan – despite being well established as one of the world’s most innovative and technologically advanced countries – has lagged behind in terms of VC funding, especially in the life sciences and how this can be…

Japan The latest from Japanese pharma, including Takeda’s big profit jump, British Linepharma’s quest to get the first ever induced abortion pill for practical use, Shionogi’s promise to become the first Japanese company to get a COVID-19 vaccine approved, and the Japanese industry’s opposition to the Biden administration’s support for a…

Japan Japanese pharma companies are already far lower-profile than their occidental counterparts but an even lesser-known player may be Taiho Pharmaceutical, a Japanese specialty pharma player that was a pioneer in the field of oral chemotherapy, led by president Masayuki Kobayashi. The company also works in the areas of allergy and…

Japan Founded by Toyoji Naito in December 1941, in just under 80 years, Eisai has become a leading global biopharma player, with pharmaceutical revenues of USD 5.4 billion in 2019.   The company’s central philosophy of human health care (hhc) was introduced in 1992 by current director, representative corporate officer and…

Japan Toshio Fujimoto, MBA, MD of Japan’s Shonan Health Innovation Park looks at how a technology developed in Japan over a decade ago is poised to drive major medical advances and new treatments.   Here’s what we know today and what we’ll need to do tomorrow to benefit from the promises…

UK The signing of an agreement on the terms of a future trade relationship between Japan and the UK has been welcomed by the UK pharma industry, which counts Japan as its third largest export destination. However, with the Japanese government having previously expressed concern about uncertainties arising from the Brexit…

Japan Toshio Fujimoto, MBA, MD of Japan’s Shonan Health Innovation Park, gives an insider’s take on the opportunities and challenges for pharma companies in the large, innovation-friendly, but often misunderstood, Japanese market.   Japan is the world’s third-largest economy and second-largest pharmaceutical and medtech market, and yet it still holds a…

Japan In 2020, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. became Japan’s biggest drug company, driven by strong performance in recent years both from the company’s own drugs as well as those of parent company Roche. With Chugai now preparing for Phase III clinical trials for Roche’s Actemra for COVID-19, the company’s share price has…