What is needed to enhance Japan's drug discovery capabilities
The decline in Japan's pharmaceutical development, or what is known as "drug discovery capability," has become a major issue in recent years. Although the Japanese pharmaceutical industry once led the world, it is currently struggling amidst intense international competition. Why has Japan's drug discovery capability declined?
According to the latest analysis by the Mitsubishi Research Institute, it is pointed out that the root cause of the decline in Japan's drug discovery capability is not a shortage of "drug discovery seeds," which serve as the foundation for new medicines. Japan possesses numerous excellent research achievements and technologies, and the quality of the research itself is not low.
The true challenge lies in the "initial design" phase—the process of organizing research results into a format that companies and investors can accurately evaluate and then connecting them to practical application. The lack of an effective bridge to turn ideas born in laboratories into business successes is a major factor slowing down the speed of development.
Moving forward, it will be crucial to determine how to efficiently translate results from universities and research institutions into commercial products. Collaboration between researchers and investors, along with creating plans that anticipate practical application from the early stages, will be the key to revitalizing Japan's drug discovery capabilities.