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August 02, 2025
 

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PHARMACEUTICALS

U.S. President Donald Trump steps on stage to deliver remarks at the Salute to America Celebration at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on July 3.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 19, 2025
Trump aims tariff double whammy at industries and nations by Aug. 1
In addition to measures on copper, the U.S. has discussed making announcements on lumber, chips, critical minerals and drugs, in that order, though this may change.
Researchers at the National Cancer Center Japan say a new type of gut bacteria named YB328 could help unlock the potential of cancer immunotherapy.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 15, 2025
Japan researchers identify gut bacteria strain that boosts anticancer drugs
The discovery may help raise the success rate of a type of cancer treatment that currently works for only 20% of patients who receive it.
One of the early exemplars of Chinese innovation is a cell therapy that has shown promise to potentially cure a deadly blood cancer.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 14, 2025
China biotech’s stunning advance is changing the world’s drug pipeline
The number of novel drugs in China entering into development ballooned to over 1,250 last year, far surpassing the European Union.
The Astellas Pharma headquarters in Tokyo. A district court in Beijing will hand down a ruling on Wednesday for a Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma, who has been charged with espionage in China, according to sources.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 11, 2025
Chinese court to issue ruling on Japanese businessman
While the Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma was indicted in August last year, the Chinese side has not disclosed details of his charges.
The health ministry is expected to cut the official price of lecanemab, an Alzheimer's drug codeveloped by Japanese drugmaker Eisai and Biogen of the United States, by up to 15% from the current level of about ¥3 million per patient a year.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 10, 2025
Japan to cut price of Alzheimer's drug lecanemab
The health ministry is expected to cut the official price of the drug by up to 15% from the current level of about ¥3 million per patient a year.
U.S. President Donald Trump (center) with Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the White House on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 9, 2025
Trump vows no tariff extension and hardens threats on copper and drugs
The U.S. president stresses he would not offer additional extensions on country-specific levies set to now hit in early August.
In an effort to move past its troubled legacy, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has replaced its president twice and appointed an external chairman.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jul 8, 2025
Despite leadership changes, Kobayashi Pharma still struggling with reform
The Osaka-based company has replaced its president twice and appointed an external chairman, seeking to reduce the influence of the founding family seen as a cause of the scandal.
Medipal is expanding into areas such as animal health products and drug development as margins from selling pharmaceuticals become squeezed in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2025
Medipal seeks to diversify amid falling drug margins
Japan’s largest drug wholesaler is seeking to boost profit, excluding extraordinary items, to ¥100 billion by March 2027 from ¥65 billion in the latest fiscal year.
Researchers prepare medicine at a laboratory in Nanjing University in Nanjing, in China's Jiangsu province. China's share of global drug development is now nearly 30%.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 17, 2025
U.S. pharma bets big on China to snap up potential blockbuster drugs
Firms bet they can turn upfront payments of as little as $80 million into multibillion-dollar treatments.
Intermediary support is crucial for drug availability in Japan, where more than 50 therapies have been identified as needed but unavailable to patients.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 5, 2025
Itochu working to support overseas pharma firms to fill Japan's drug gaps
Two units of the trading house will assist with everything from early-stage consulting, regulatory advice and clinical testing support to post-launch distribution.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Norikazu Toyoda in Osaka on May 30
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical vows never to repeat health crisis
In March 2024, the drugmaker, based in Osaka, announced that it had received a series of reports about such symptoms as kidney disease from users of its supplements.
Tsuruha shareholders approved a merger plan with Welcia, which will result in an effective acquisition by supermarket chain Aeon.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2025
Tsuruha shareholders approve future merger with rival drugstore Welcia
Tsuruha, based in Sapporo, has announced it will integrate its operations with Welcia, the biggest force within the Japanese pharmacy industry, in December.
The lack of quick and easy tests has until now slowed the rollout of new Alzheimer’s drugs.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 20, 2025
First blood test for Alzheimer’s to be available in U.S. in June
The test will initially be available at about 50 American research institutes and hospitals that specialize in Alzheimer’s disease.
People shop inside a tax-free drug store at the Ameyoko shopping district in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 16, 2025
Emergency contraceptive pill may be approved for over-the-counter sales
In most cases, women in Japan must undergo a medical examination and obtain a prescription to access such pills.
From around spring 2027, people will be able to pick up over-the-counter drugs from convenience stores without pharmacists in Japan.
JAPAN
May 15, 2025
Over-the-counter drugs to be made available at convenience stores
The move will require consumers to listen to explanations from pharmacists online before purchases.
Capsules of Takeda Pharmaceutical's Prevacid heartburn drug. The company's share price dropped by over 5% on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a plan to order a cut in U.S. prescription drug costs.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 12, 2025
Asian pharma stocks tumble on Trump signal to cut U.S. drug prices
The U.S. president's social media post put pressure on drug-related stocks on worries their profits will take a hit if they have to reduce prices in the U.S.
Shares of Eli Lilly & Co. surged on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday after early reports of its experimental weight-loss drug put in a par with market leader Ozempic. The stocks of the drug’s originator, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., also saw an uptick.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 18, 2025
Weight-loss pill orforglipron shines in study, boosting Lilly and Chugai
Eli Lilly’s orforglipron pill, licensed from Chugai Pharmaceutical, could reshape the booming weight-loss drug market, early data shows.
The U.S. Commerce Department has begun investigating how semiconductors and pharmaceuticals impact national security.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2025
Trump initiates chips and drug probes, ahead of more tariffs
The moves, announced Monday in the Federal Register, are a precursor to imposing tariffs and threaten to broaden the president’s sweeping U.S. trade war.
Obstetrician and gynecologist Song Mihyon
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 7, 2025
Doctor urges awareness of a birth control pill covered by health insurance
“I think doctors need to tell their patients that a birth control pill covered by health insurance exists,” Song Mihyon said.
Foster City, California’s Gilead is laser-focused on HIV and is seeking an actual cure.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2025
Gilead's Japan head says nation can be among first to end HIV epidemic
The pharmaceutical powerhouse has drugs that disrupt the transmission of the virus, one of which has been approved for prevention in Japan.
Why did such a powerful earthquake produce such a weak tsunami?
A person records images of waves following a tsunami advisory generated by local authorities after an earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, prompting warnings and evacuations stretching across at the South Pacific, in Vina del Mar, Chile, on Wednesday.
Last soldiers of Imperial Japanese Army have a warning for younger generations
Kunshiro Kiyozumi, 97, who was the youngest crew member of the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 in World War II, on his way to a restaurant to have lunch in Matsuyama, Japan, on April 29.
80 years on, former teacher conveys history of hidden island in World War II
Masayuki Yamauchi teaches junior high school students about the history of Okunoshima, an island in Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture, in May.
1,010 food and beverage prices to rise in Japan in August
The price increases in August will be especially noticeable for dairy products, including milk and yogurt, according to the research firm Teikoku Databank.
GTN takes a chance on newcomers to Japan
Hiroyuki Goto, president of GTN. The company started after Goto personally co-signed leases for around 20 non-Japanese people, including some friends and friends of friends.
GTN takes a chance on newcomers to Japan
Hiroyuki Goto, president of GTN. The company started after Goto personally co-signed leases for around 20 non-Japanese people, including some friends and friends of friends.
Artist Chiharu Shiota weaves a hidden marvel on Teshima
“Memory of Lines” is Chiharu Shiota’s second art installation on Teshima as part of the Setouchi Triennale.
How the Japanese TV industry is changing
Fuji TV headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward. Fuji TV came under fire over the manner in which it handled a case of “sexual trouble” involving former boy band member Masahiro Nakai and a female announcer.
Last soldiers of Imperial Japanese Army have a warning for younger generations
Kunshiro Kiyozumi, 97, who was the youngest crew member of the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 in World War II, on his way to a restaurant to have lunch in Matsuyama, Japan, on April 29.
Why Ishiba refuses to quit even amid intense pressure for him to go
Supporters of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba take part in a rally across the street from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.

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