Pharmaceuticals

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Business Overview

  • Therapeutic drugs

  • Clinical nutrition

  • Diagnostics

  • Medical devices

Revenue¥1137.9 billion*
Business profit¥151.9 billion

*Revenue includes intersegment revenue and transfers

Otsuka focuses on the fields of psychiatry, neurology and oncology as priority areas under the theme of addressing unmet medical needs. In addition, by working in a wide range of other fields and businesses including the cardiovascular and renal system, digestive system, ophthalmology, diagnostics, intravenous solutions and medical devices, we provide comprehensive healthcare services from diagnosis to treatment.

Initiatives in the Pharmaceutical Business

Psychiatry and Neurology

Aiming to become a top-class global player in the psychiatry and neurology area, with a high-potential pipeline and product portfolio

Psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder can develop at any age and affect a person’s social life, career, and studies. Moreover, there are concerns about the increase in Alzheimer’s disease as the world population ages. These diseases affect not just the patient’s quality of life; they also place a strain on family members and caregivers, as well as on the healthcare economy. There are still many psychiatric and neurological diseases for which satisfactory treatments have yet to be established. This is because their causes and mechanisms are not fully understood, which makes the discovery of new drugs extremely difficult. The Otsuka group entered the psychiatry and neurology area in the 1970s and has continued to take on the challenge of new drug discovery with the goal of contributing to medical needs. At the Otsuka group, we have developed an extensive and high-potential pipeline and product lineup through the application of both small molecule and large molecule compound technologies and digital technologies. Our aim is to become a top-class global player in the psychiatry and neurology area.

Oncology

Maximizing business value by combining group strengths

Maximizing business value through proprietary drug discovery platforms and initiatives for new drug discovery technologies and methodologies Taiho Pharmaceutical has a broad portfolio supported by its proprietary drug discovery platform technologies, including proprietary biochemical modulation technology uniquely developed its history, as well as the Cysteinomix drug discovery technology1 enabling specific covalent modification of therapeutic targets, and fragment-based drug discovery technology2 established by Astex Pharmaceuticals. The company is also accelerating development of drugs to resolve unmet needs, working with pharmaceutical collaborators. Furthermore, it looks for opportunities for collaboration with promising startups through corporate venture capitals, thereby expanding its development pipelines in cancer immunotherapy and other areas, and acquiring innovative drug discovery platform technologies.
Meanwhile, centering on external collaborations, Otsuka Pharmaceutical is taking on the challenge of establishing new therapies with a focus on the future. This includes creating synergies with new modalities, in areas such as gene-modified T cell therapies.
Individual group companies are combining their accumulated assets in their fields of their strengths to bolster global operations and enhance business value.

1: Platform for discovering compounds that cause specifically from a covalent bonding with reactive amino acid residues (mainly cysteine residues) of protein as potential drug target proteins.
2: Technology to create new compounds through molecular design. It clarifies interactions between small-molecular fragments showing pharmacological activity that cannot be measured in high-throughput screening and large molecule proteins with complicated 3D structures that have been implicated in diseases and are potential drug targets.

Cardiovascular and Renal System

Creating first-in-class products through new drug discovery technologies and medical devices

In the cardiovascular and renal area, in addition to strengthening our proprietary drug discovery platforms, we also plan to actively make growth investments, examples of which have included our business alliance with Aurinia Pharmaceuticals and the acquisition of Visterra, a company with a renal disease-related pipeline. Combining our expertise in pharmaceuticals and medical device technologies, we also develop medical devices that are minimally invasive and less impactful on the body.
In 2021, we launched the Vascular Stent System in Japan. Meanwhile, we have pioneered the use of the Ultrasound Renal Denervation system for patients with hypertension where existing treatments have not adequately controlled a patient's blood pressure. The system is an investigational device in Japan, is FDA approved and available for sale in the U.S., and bears the CE mark*.
* Displayed on products that conform with relevant health, safety, and environmental protection standards specified by EU legislation

R&D Pipeline

An overview of the Otsuka group's R&D pipeline.

R&D Pipeline

Major R&D Sites

The Otsuka group has built a network of R&D sites worldwide, developing a global structure for the research and development of innovative new products to aid in the treatment of diseases and support day-to-day health.

  • Tokushima Research Institute
    (10th Research Center),
    Otsuka Pharmaceutical
  • Tokushima Research Institute
    (Hi-z Tower),
    Otsuka Pharmaceutical
  • Osaka Research Center
    for Drug Discovery
  • Tsukuba Research Institute

Group Company R&D Websites

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