Types of Drugs
Various kinds of drugs around us
There are two types of pharmaceuticals: OTC drugs, which are sold over-the-counter at pharmacies and drugstores, and prescription drugs, which require a prescription from a doctor.
The drugs that we, the member companies of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Japan (PMAJ), are responsible for creating are called "new drugs (brand name drugs)" within the "ethical drugs" category, and are drugs that require a long time and much effort to produce.
Pharmaceuticals
Ethical drugs
These are drugs that require a prescription.
Ethical drugs are drugs that can be obtained at a pharmacy after a doctor's examination at a hospital or other medical institution. The doctor diagnoses each patient's illness or injury, and issues a prescription based on the patient's sensitivity to the drug, which is then dispensed by the pharmacist at the pharmacy.
New drugs and generic drugs
There are two types of ethical drugs: original drugs (new drugs) and generic drugs.
New drugs are ethical drugs that have been approved by the government and put on the market after the efficacy and safety of the new ingredients have been confirmed over a long period of research and development. The member companies of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Japan (PMAJ) work daily to bring these new drugs to patients.
A new drug is protected by a patent on the invention for a certain period of time (patent right duration), but once the protection period expires, other pharmaceutical companies can manufacture and sell drugs with the same active ingredients as the new drug as generic drugs.
OTC drugs
Drugs that can be purchased and used without a prescription at a local pharmacy
OTC drugs are drugs sold at pharmacies and drugstores, such as cold remedies and stomach medicines.
OTC* drugs, also called "OTC drugs" because they can be purchased over the counter at pharmacies, can be purchased and used at the discretion of the consumer, and are therefore considered to have a higher level of safety as well as efficacy.
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As of December 2023OTC : Over the Counter
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The success rate of new drugs is about 1 in 31,000.
Innovative new drugs are developed based on the latest research results. The process from basic research to approval and launch usually takes about 9 to 16 years and a large amount of research and development costs. Moreover, the probability of success of a compound that has begun research as a drug candidate becoming available as a new drug is approximately 1 in 31,000.
Source: Pharmaceutical Cooperative Guide 2025