Over two years since the emergence of COVID-19, Japan's pharmaceutical companies are finally in the home stretch of introducing their vaccines in the country, a move that experts say will be extremely important from the perspective of self-reliance.
In an important step, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. group became the first Japanese company to receive approval for its COVID-19 vaccine, in Canada, late last month. It is considering applying for approval in Japan between July and September.
Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. developed their vaccines at unprecedented speeds thanks to billions of dollars provided by the U.S. government. But the Japanese government’s investment in and support for homegrown vaccines paled in comparison, and the country was ill prepared for a sudden health crisis like the pandemic, as it had insufficient research and development capabilities and technological infrastructure, industry sources say.