Innovation

Accelerating Partnerships for Innovative Drug Discovery Based on Cutting-Edge Science and Technology to Solve Global Healthcare Challenges

The global health situation has improved significantly to date, as shown by the increase in life expectancy, and new drugs have played a major role in this improvement. 1

Through the provision of pharmaceuticals and vaccines that make full use of cutting-edge science and technology, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Japan and its member companies have contributed not only to the treatment and prevention of disease, but also to the improvement of the health and welfare of people around the world by reducing mortality rates among young people, improving patients' quality of life, avoiding expensive hospitalization, and reintegrating patients into society.

We will promote the practical application of innovative pharmaceuticals and regenerative medicine products by firmly grasping the breakthroughs in the field of life science such as personalized medicine and regenerative medicine, for which needs have been increasing in recent years, while opening up new drug discovery fields.

In the field of vaccines, along with vaccines for the prevention of infectious diseases, the creation of next-generation vaccines and the development of therapeutic vaccines using the immune system are attracting attention. The environment surrounding vaccines and adjuvants, including the promotion of industry-academia collaborative research and the expansion of target diseases, is expected to lead to the prevention and treatment of more diseases.

The creation of groundbreaking new drugs is extremely difficult, and the probability of their success is very low. This is due to the fact that the drug is targeted to diseases that have not been effectively treated by conventional methods, that R&D activities must be creative and utilize increasingly complex scientific knowledge, and that it takes a great deal of money and years to bring a drug to the marketplace. Despite this extremely challenging environment for drug discovery, Japanese pharmaceutical companies boast the second largest number of new drugs created in the world. However, progress has not been made in developing new drugs for diseases prevalent among the poor in developing countries. To address this challenge, we recognize the need to address not only time and cost issues, but also to create an environment that accelerates the creation of new drugs and to participate in partnerships for new drug development.

Country Origin Comparison of Top 100 Global Sales of Ethical Drugs (2018)

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