Abstract
The drug-lag problem in Japan can be avoided by providing a successful drug candidate for a clinical trial, which is identified by comprehensive discovery research focusing on translational research in pharmaceutical industry. The lag can also be avoided by assessing the superiority of the candidate scientifically based on well-designed clinical pharmacological studies or on comprehensive proof-of-concept studies. Japanese should establish their own optimal clinical dose for a new drug by collaborating with East Asian populations who have been shown to be genetically similar to Japanese based on recent anthropological studies. This may also help to avoid the drug-lag problem by speeding up clinical trials.
