Pharmaceutical Industrial Policy Committee Open Call for Researchers Support and Grants for FY2025 Applications for this fiscal year have been closed.

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Purpose】 【Selection

There is no doubt that living a long and healthy life is the desire of many people. People also hope that the economy of the country as a whole will grow stably, that a sustainable social security system will be ensured, and that concerns about illness and retirement will be eliminated.
The mission of R&D-oriented pharmaceutical companies is to contribute to "extending healthy life expectancy" and "driving economic growth" through continuous R&D and stable supply of innovative pharmaceutical products.
However, there are still many social issues related to "health" and "economy." In the medical field, in particular, there are various challenges such as the increasing demand for medical care due to the aging of the population, problems in the medical care delivery system due to the declining population, and financial concerns in the future.
The Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA) provides grants to support researchers with the aim of contributing to the development of research and the accumulation of evidence that will lead to the resolution of issues surrounding the medical, health, and pharmaceutical industries in Japan in the future by promoting interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research and supporting young researchers, regardless of the field of pharmaceuticals. The purpose of this grant is to contribute to the development of research and the accumulation of evidence that will lead to the resolution of issues surrounding the medical, health and pharmaceutical industries in Japan in the future.

Acceptance or Rejection of Proposals

This Call for Proposals is open to two categories: "Designated Research Projects" with three themes, and "Free Research Projects," which is open to a wide range of research themes in the social sciences such as economics, law, regulatory science, health economic evaluation, and political science that contribute to the promotion and development of medical care, health, social security systems, and the pharmaceutical industry, especially for young researchers. The "Free Research" category will accept applications for a wide range of research topics.
We envision research that is based on surveys, analyses, empirical studies, case studies, etc., and that provides a generalized discussion of the subject. Themes based on new ideas that are not bound by established concepts are also welcome.

(1) Designated research project

Theme 1: "Measurement of Healthy Life Expectancy and Analysis of Factors Affecting Healthy Life Expectancy

Factors that influence healthy life expectancy are not limited to pharmaceuticals.
For example, we are looking for research that analyzes a wide range of "factors that influence/improve healthy life expectancy" that are not limited to life sciences, such as medical technologies, procedures, access to medical care, individual lifestyle and health behaviors related to health promotion measures, and social and environmental factors such as those listed as social determinants of health. We are also looking for research that analyzes the definition of "health" in terms of social and environmental factors.
In addition, as the definition of "health" is becoming more multifaceted in society and the concept of "well-being" is becoming more widespread, we also invite research on how healthy life expectancy should be measured and how healthy life expectancy itself should be defined, within the scope of this theme.

Theme 2 "Economic Impact of Health

While it is the desire of many people to live long and healthy lives, it is becoming increasingly important to accumulate multifaceted research on the various benefits of good health in Japan, where the population is aging.
In this context, the effects of people becoming healthier can be analyzed from various economic and sociological perspectives, including the effects on individual economic agents such as individual employment, social participation, and consumption activities, as well as changes in the aggregate volume of economic activities. For example, with regard to the relationship between health and production, research on the relationship between health status and labor productivity, employment rate, and wages, as represented by recent health management, etc., is now being accumulated.　
In addition, the "Study Group on Extending Healthy Life Expectancy and Driving Economic Growth" conducted in FY2022 analyzed the impact of morbidity and household consumption on a representative panel survey of the elderly in Japan, and found that consumption declines by 10% on average when a person is afflicted with one of 14 common diseases (20% decline with two diseases*). (20% for two diseases).
Thus, we are looking for research related to the "economic" impact of health that goes beyond individual medical technologies and interventions.

Theme 3 "Strengthening the Competitiveness and Drug Discovery Capability of the Domestic Pharmaceutical Industry

日本はアメリカ、スイス、イギリス、ドイツ、デンマーク等と並ぶ世界でも有数の新薬創出国であり、「新しい資本主義のグランドデザイン及び実行計画 2025年改訂版」においても、医薬品産業は我が国の“基幹産業” に位置付けられています。
一方、The Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Researchの報告によると、世界売上高上位100品目において、日本の医薬品創出企業の品目数は2017年をピークに年々減り続け、2022年は最小の7品目となりました。2023年はランクイン数が8品目となり8年ぶりにランクイン数が増加しましたが、新薬創出において欧米にキャッチアップできていない状況が顕在化しています。
また、抗体医薬品等のバイオ医薬品が世界売上高上位100品目中 48品目を占める中、日本企業が創出した品目数は 3品目しかなく、新規モダリティによる新薬創出においても欧米に大きく後れを取っています。
複雑化・高度化した新規モダリティの開発においては、従来のような垂直分業により1社で完結することは難しく、製薬企業とアカデミア、バイオベンチャー等が協業し、ドメスティックなプレーヤーに閉じない水平分業による創薬エコシステムの構築や、アカデミアやベンチャー等をはじめとしたシーズを社会実装に繋げるための取り組みが求められます。
こうした状況下、喫緊の課題である国内医薬品産業の競争力・創薬力の強化、創薬エコシステム構築やシーズの社会実装等にかかる研究を募集します。

(2) Free research

Example of theme:

JPMA counts the number of previous studies based on the two axes of "disease x 0 to tertiary prevention" and maps the extent of previous studies for each disease and function to help young researchers select a research theme. This map provides a comprehensive overview of the availability of research on disease prevention for extending healthy life expectancy in Japan and overseas. We welcome research that will develop the map itself as well as use it as a reference.

Subjects

Individuals or groups of individuals who aim to conduct excellent, original research on healthcare economics, healthcare systems, healthcare policy, social security policy, healthcare-related industrial policy, and other broadly related issues of medicine and health are eligible to apply. The main investigators for designated research projects must be researchers working at domestic research institutes, while the main investigators for open research projects must be young researchers, including graduate students and doctoral students, affiliated with domestic research institutes.

Research Period

Application Procedure

General Call for Proposals

Target number of grant recipients and grant amount

Total amount: 10 million yen or less

[Deadline] [Deadline] [Deadline] [Deadline] [Deadline] [Deadline] [Deadline

November 10, 2025 (Monday) *Must arrive no later than November 10, 2025

Application Procedures

（１）必要事項を記入し、記入済の「研究助成申請書」、「研究計画書」等必要書式一式をPDF形式とし事務局まで電子メールでご提出ください。

（２）研究助成に必要な申請様式は、以下よりダウンロードしてご入力ください。

Selection】 【Selection

The selection will be made based on the screening of application documents and by the Selection Committee.

(Titles omitted, in alphabetical order)

Notification of Acceptance/Rejection

All applicants will be notified of acceptance or rejection by the end of December 2025.
The names and affiliations of the research grant recipients and their research topics will be posted on the JPMA website.

Contract】 【Purpose】 【Deadline

Please use the attached contract form provided by the Association for the conclusion of the contract. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any doubts about the content of the agreement. Please also note that the contract is with the organization to which the grantee belongs, not with the individual grantee.

Model Agreement for Research Grant (PDF version)

Grant Presentation

Grants will be awarded by the end of March 2026.
Remittance must be made to a bank or credit union account in Japan.

Use of grant funds

You are required to conduct the research and use the grant funds as you have applied for in your research plan. However, the following expenditures will not be covered by the grant

Travel expenses are limited to 60% of the total amount of the application, and outsourcing expenses (including expenses for obtaining patents, etc.) are limited to 50% of the total amount of the application; if the amount exceeds this limit, a statement of reasons must be submitted.

Handling of results

The research results report and financial report must be submitted to JPMA by the end of the specified research period. Although the JPMA retains the copyright of the submitted reports, it does not prevent you from presenting your research or submitting papers related to the reports during or after the research period. However, this does not preclude you from presenting your research or submitting papers on the contents of the report during or after the research period, and it does not preclude you from transferring the copyright of the relevant sections of the report to academic societies or publishing companies if necessary. We look forward to your active presentation of your research and submission of papers.

Reporting and publication of research results

Researchers are required to present their research results at the results reporting meeting to be held at the JPMA (if possible, prior to the submission of the paper).
Research results must be submitted to an academic or conference journal or equivalent within the research term. In addition, you are required to report your research results to the JPMA prior to submission or publication of the paper or article, if possible, on the designated topic (there is no specific destination for submission). (There is no particular destination for submissions, and submissions and conference presentations may be made in Japanese or any other language.)
When publishing your paper, please state that the research is "funded by Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association" and submit a reprint of the paper or abstract at a later date.

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