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August 23, 2025
 

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PHARMACEUTICALS

Chugai Pharmaceutical shares sank as much as 20% in Tokyo on Friday after a study revealed that an obesity drug it licensed to Eli Lilly & Co. resulted in lower weight loss and higher rates of nausea and vomiting than anticipated.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2025
Chugai stock drops the most since 1977 on disappointing obesity drug data
A study showed the drug, which it has licensed to Eli Lilly & Co., resulted in lower weight loss and higher rates of nausea and vomiting than anticipated.
The price of Alzheimer's drug Lecanemab, codeveloped by Japanese drugmaker Eisai and U.S. industry peer Biogen, will be lowered to ¥97,277 for a 500-milligram bottle.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 7, 2025
Japan approves price cut for Alzheimer's drug Lecanemab
The drug's price will be lowered to ¥97,277 for a 500-milligram bottle starting on Nov. 1.
Sumitomo Pharma applied to Japanese regulators for manufacturing and marketing authorization aimed at treating patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 5, 2025
Drugmaker in Japan seeks approval for stem cell treatment for Parkinson's
A trial led by Kyoto University researchers indicated treatment using induced Pluripotent Stem cells was safe and successful in improving symptoms of the disease.
The newly developed drug, Adriana, is a groundbreaking painkiller, which works on a completely different mechanism to morphine and other existing synthetic opioids.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2025
Kyoto University team develops pain reliever comparable to morphine
Morphine, often administered to cancer patients, can cause serious adverse effects such as breathing issues and addiction.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Chairman Yoshihito Ota speaks during an interview in Osaka last month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 4, 2025
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical chairman vows corporate culture reform
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical achieved net profit growth for over 20 years from its stock market listing until the beni kо̄ji scandal emerged last year.
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.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
JR East cancels luxury train run over crew's boozing
East Japan Railway said Thursday that it will cancel one trip of a luxury overnight sleeper service, which was originally scheduled to depart from Ueno Station in Tokyo on Aug. 30, after crew members were found to have been drinking alcohol on duty.
Demystifying the manufacturing success of China
China’s massive scale, strong education system and competitive local governance have enabled it to reach the technological frontier and dominate high-tech manufacturing despite its low per capita gross domestic product.
Infectious diseases to watch for in Japan this summer amid surge of cases
An illustration of a colony of the Bordetella pertussis bacterium that causes pertussis, or whooping cough. As of Aug. 10, there were 64,467 cases reported this year, according to the latest data from the Japan Institute for Health Security.
103-year-old remembers Soviet attack right after WWII
Shoichi Takahashi holds a photo of himself when he was younger, in Otaru, Hokkaido, on May 17.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Big burgers and bigger ambitions for Japan's Burger King
Kazuhiro Nomura, president of BK Japan Holdings, which operates Burger King in Japan
Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot
Workations were a burgeoning trend in the corporate world for years before the COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged it.
Atsushi Kitagawara’s exhibition finds poetry in architecture
The inverted cone, one of Atsushi Kitagawara’s six signature elements in architecture, is a key feature of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection museum building.
Candidates preparing to make final pitches for Sawamura Award
Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo has a 1.13 ERA in 19 starts this season.

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