This publication, commemorating the sixty years since the founding of Japan Society for the History of Pharmacy (JSHP), provides an overview of the Japanese pharmaceutical industry over a thirty-year span from 1980 to 2010. In the first section, entitled Medical Evolution: The Growth Period for Pharmaceutical Products, and the second section, Patient-Based Medicine: The Period of Information Prioritization, the following themes are examined. Changes in Drug Pricing Policies, Promotion of Bungyo (separation of prescription from dispensing), Measures to Improve the Safety of Pharmaceutical Products; Appropriate Use of Pharmaceutical Products, Drug Discovery: Changes in Pharmaceutical Product Development and Actual Conditions in the Domestic Launch of New Medicines; Marketing (Medical Representative) Reforms, Pharmaceutical Industry Mergers and Acquisitions, Internationalization of the Pharmaceutical Industry. The following papers are provided as further references to support the conclusions made in the sections above. Changes in Japanese Drug Discovery Technologies and Drug Development. Japan's Pharmaceutical Market and Shifts in Manufacturing and Sales. Changes in Clinical Trials in Japan and Appropriate Use of Pharmaceuticals. Internationalization of the Japanese Pharmaceutical Industry. PMID: 25272635 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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In 1970s, the material patent system was introduced in Japan. Since then, many Japanese pharmaceutical companies have endeavored to create original in-house products. From 1980s, many of the innovative products were small molecular drugs and were developed using powerful medicinal-chemical technologies. Among them were antibiotics and effective remedies for the digestive organs and circulatory organs. During this period, Japanese companies were able to launch some blockbuster drugs. At the same time, the pharmaceutical market, which had grown rapidly for two decades, was beginning to level off. From the late 1990s, drug development was slowing down due to the lack of expertise in biotechnology such as genetic engineering. In response to the circumstances, the research and development on biotechnology-based drugs such as antibody drugs have become more dynamic and popular at companies than small molecule drugs. In this paper, the writers reviewed in detail the transitions in drug discovery and development between 1980 and 2010. PMID: 25272636 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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This paper reviews the status of clinical trials and appropriate use of drugs from historical perspectives in the last 30 years in Japan. Industry-sponsored clinical trials in Japan began being regulated under the revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Law in 1980. Japanese modifications were made to the ICH-GCP, which reached step 4 in May 1996, and a notification called the New GCP was issued in March 1997. This was fully implemented as of April 1998. The number of clinical trials, however, dropped sharply after 1998. Patients worldwide who have no drugs for their diseases are waiting for new medicines. Clinical trials must be held as part of a scientific and valid process. Physicians have a duty to use new medicines considering a balance of effectiveness and safety. In Japan, several yakugai cases were observed in the past. They were not only caused by the toxicological effects of drugs but were also due to social factors in drug use. Responding to these scandals, new regulations were developed and contributed to the appropriate use of drugs in Japan. PMID: 25272637 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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In this paper, the writers reviewed in detail the pharmaceutical market and the shifts in manufacturing and sales including the trade balance in Japan over a thirty-year period from 1980 to 2010. From the 1980s to the 1990s, many innovative pharmaceutical products were developed and launched in the Japanese market. During the same period, some Japanese companies managed to develop their first internationally marketable drugs, which were antibiotics and effective remedies for the digestive and circulatory organs. During this period, Japanese pharmaceutical companies were also able to launch some of blockbuster drugs. For two decades, the pharmaceutical market grew rapidly. For this reason, it can be called The Growth Period for Pharmaceutical Products in Japan. After that period, drug development and sales slowed down due to a lack of expertise in genetic engineering and biotechnologies. This situation caused a large deficit in the trade balance for Japanese pharmaceutical products. However, with regard to the trade balance (including technical royalties) for pharmaceutical product technologies, Japan remains in the black even today. PMID: 25272638 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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The Japanese pharmaceutical industry experienced a period of rapid and economic growth following the introduction of the national healthcare system in 1961. Triggered by a major revision in Japanese legislation from process to substance patents, leading Japanese pharmaceutical companies began to invest in research and development (R&D). By the mid-1980s, some had managed to develop their first internationally marketable drugs, many of which were antibiotics. The emergence of novel drugs gave companies the impetus to engage in progressively more appreciable investments in Asia, Europe and the United States. In the 1980s, internationalization was mainly inwardly focused so as to limit firms' exposure to risk. However, as profits increased in the 1990s from the sale of new drugs, Japanese pharmaceutical companies were able to engage in even more sizeable, outwardly focused investments. By 2010, Japan's leading pharmaceutical enterprises had succeeded in putting place three types of global operations: manufacturing, marketing and R&D. PMID: 25272639 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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