Tag - pharmaceuticals

 
 

PHARMACEUTICALS

Yo Okutani holds a bear repellent spray he developed at Biosiense in Anan, Tokushima Prefecture, last month.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2025
Tokushima company develops bear repellent spray amid record attack numbers
The spray is a rare domestic product in a market dominated by imported options.
Takeda's dengue vaccine shows seven years of strong protection against infection and hospitalization, marking the longest efficacy reported to date.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 4, 2025
Takeda’s dengue vaccine shows long-lasting protection
The results bolster confidence in Takeda’s two-dose regimen, especially as countries grapple with record dengue outbreaks fueled by climate change.
Shionogi CEO Isao Teshirogi says the firm's Dovato HIV treatment has top market share in Europe and is expected to continue expanding.
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2025
Shionogi lifts profit outlook on HIV royalties and overseas growth
The company raised its full-year operating profit by 5.7% to ¥185 billion, beating analyst estimates.
A building housing the health ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 26, 2025
Japan to promote use of follow-on biologics
The ministry aims to introduce new measures in fiscal 2026 as a way to curb the country's ballooning medical costs.
A Novo Nordisk office in Bagsvaerd, on the outskirts of Copenhagen
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2025
Novo's board bust-up to sharpen drugmaker's focus on U.S. consumers
The Danish drugmaker that initially soared on the success of its obesity drug has lost its market lead to U.S. rival Eli Lilly and cheaper copycats.
Aska Pharmaceutical's emergency contraceptive pill Norlevo has been approved for over-the-counter sales by the health ministry.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 20, 2025
Japan approves emergency contraceptive pill for over-the-counter sales
Aska Pharmaceutical's Norlevo is the first emergency contraceptive pill to be approved for sale without a prescription in the country.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot with U.S. President Donald Trump during an announcement about lowering U.S. drug prices, at the White House in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 14, 2025
U.S. investments, and rhetoric, help AstraZeneca seal drug deal with Trump
Deal to lower drug costs for Americans and shield the drugmaker from import tariffs was the culmination of efforts stretching back to November last year, sources say.
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's drug Datroway extended survival in patients with a hard-to-treat form of breast cancer.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 7, 2025
Breast cancer patients lived longer on drug Datroway, says maker
The drug is said to have significantly improved survival and delayed disease progression in patients with a particularly hard to treat form of the disease.
Construction is underway on a Project Stargate AI infrastructure site, a collaboration between three large tech companies — OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle — in Abilene, Texas, in April.
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2025
Trump targets deals in pharma, AI, energy and mining before midterm elections
Washington is pursuing deals across up to 30 industries, involving dozens of companies deemed critical to national or economic security.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before signing executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Sept. 19.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 27, 2025
Trump’s 100% pharmaceutical tariffs won’t apply to Japan and EU
A U.S.-Japan joint statement says American tariff rates on Japanese drugs and semiconductors should not exceed those applied to others, including the EU.
Jared Baeten, Gilead Sciences' senior vice president and virology therapeutic area head, hopes regulatory approval elsewhere for lenacapavir as a preexposure prophylaxis — for reducing the risk of contracting HIV — could lead to real discussions toward ending HIV in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 22, 2025
Twice-a-year injection could make HIV prevention easier, developer argues
Without the need to take a daily pill, adherence could improve, says an executive from Gilead Sciences, which developed such an injection.
Tylenol for sale at a pharmacy in New York on Sept. 5
WORLD / Politics
Sep 22, 2025
Trump administration to link Tylenol to autism, report says
Officials plan to warn pregnant women against using the medication, one of the world’s most common, over-the-counter pain relievers, unless they have a fever.
Erectile dysfunction drug Cialis
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 19, 2025
Panel OKs first OTC sales of erectile dysfunction drug in Japan
Cialis is set to become the first erectile dysfunction treatment that can be purchased at drugstores in Japan.
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2025
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
Four scientists at the forefront of dementia research speak about what kind of future they envision for people with the condition.
Takeda Pharmaceutical’s experimental narcolepsy drug shows significant improvement in late-stage trials, potentially targeting the root cause of the disorder.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 9, 2025
Takeda nears first therapy for root cause of narcolepsy
Patients who took the drug, called oveporexton, for 12 weeks experienced increased daytime alertness and an overall improvement in quality of life.
A staff member works in the lab of Hobum Oleochemicals, a manufacturer that develops sustainable chemical raw materials derived from renewable plant oils, in Hamburg, Germany, on Aug. 25.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 4, 2025
Trump's tariffs threaten to choke European chemicals recovery
The sector has been grappling in recent years with high production costs after gas and power prices soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A partly-used, 10 gram bag of semaglutide powder made by China-based Sinopep-Allsino Biopharmaceutical, at a compounding pharmacy in Arlington, Virginia, in December 2024.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2025
Chinese companies turn to generics as patents expire on weight-loss drugs
U.S. regulators have restricted the sale of cheap copies of the drugs, slowing demand for raw ingredients Chinese firms supplied over the past two years.
Aska Pharmaceutical's emergency contraceptive pill Norlevo
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 31, 2025
Japan panel OKs nonprescription sales of morning-after pill
The panel also agreed that the product will be classified as a drug that must be taken in the presence of a trained pharmacist for safety reasons.
The health ministry is considering allowing nationwide pharmacy sales of emergency contraceptive pills without requiring age restrictions or parental approval.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 28, 2025
Japan weighs OTC sales of emergency contraceptive pills without age limit
To ensure proper use, the plan would require that the morning-after pill be taken in the presence of a pharmacist.
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.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes