REGULATORY
    Japan Jittery over Mass Layoffs at FDA, though HHS Says Reviewers Won’t Be Affected
    By Ken Yoshino March 31, 2025
    Officials of the Japanese government and pharmaceutical industry are wringing their hands over the potential ramifications of recently announced job cuts of 3,500 at the US FDA due to the sweeping magnitude of the reduction,…

    LATEST

    GE Healthcare Fully Acquires Nihon Medi-Physics
    April 1, 2025
    GE HealthCare said on March 31 that it has completed the full acquisition of Nihon Medi-Physics, assigning its diagnostic segment head as the president of the Japanese radiopharmaceutical firm, effective the same day.Kevin O’Neill, president…
    Ono Pairs Up with Reborna to Discover CNS Disease Drugs
    April 1, 2025
    Ono Pharmaceutical said on March 31 that it has inked a partnership deal with Fujisawa-based Reborna Biosciences to develop novel therapies for rare neurological disorders leveraging the biotech’s proprietary RNA-targeting drug discovery platform.Ono will acquire…
    Chugai CEO’s Pay Tops 400 Million Yen in 2024: Securities Report
    April 1, 2025
    Chugai Pharmaceutical President and CEO Osamu Okuda reeled in annual pay exceeding 400 million yen in FY2024, according to the company’s securities filing released on March 27.Okuda’s pay increased to 422 million yen in the…

    COMMENTARY

    Fair or Unfair? PMP Return Applied for First Time in Off-Year Revision
    By Ken Yoshino

    The Japanese government on March 7 announced new NHI prices for the FY2025 drug price revision, effective April 1. With…

    COLUMN

    Build a Strong Employer Brand - What Can You Do If Your Company Stinks?
    By Philip Carrigan

    Your company’s employer brand is your reputation as an employer and is crucial in attracting top talent. Some reputations are just not good; they may or not be deserved. That is just the perception in the market. Years ago there…

    Discussions on Next PMD Act Amendment

    Quality Assurance and Lag/Loss Fight to Form Pillars of PMD Act Amendment
    By Takashi Ebisawa

    A Japanese health ministry panel on December 26 wrapped up its discussions on the next amendment of the Pharmaceuticals and…

    Drug Approval & Reimbursement in 2024

    Japan Approves Zepbound, Qalsody, and Lots More Drugs

    Japan’s health ministry doled out regulatory approvals for a throng of new medicines on December 27 including Eli Lilly’s obesity…

    Chuikyo Debate on Off-Year Drug Price Revisions

    Chuikyo OKs Outline of FY2025 Off-Year Drug Price Revision
    By Ken Yoshino

    Japan’s key reimbursement policy panel on December 25 approved an outline of the FY2025 drug price revision, finalizing plans to…

    TRENDS

    Top 10 PHARMA JAPAN Articles of 2024

    For the first time in many years, Japan appeared to have pivoted to a pro-innovation path with the FY2024 drug pricing reform. All eyes were apparently on this course change as seen in this year’s most-read story list, though the…

    MHLW Panel on Generic Industry Structure

    MHLW Panel Draws Up Plans for Generic Industry Shakeup in Final Report

    A Japanese health ministry panel discussing the generic industry structure on May 22 put together a report in which it…

    MHLW Panel on Pharmaceutical Regulations

    Japan Set to Push Central IRBs for Clinical Trials, Avoid Customary All-Case PMS

    A Japanese health ministry study group focused on pharmaceutical regulations on March 21 agreed on a policy to encourage the…

    Chuikyo on FY2024 Reimbursement Reform

    Chuikyo OKs Outline of FY2024 Drug Pricing Reform; No Unprofitability Re-Pricing for 7%-Plus Price Gap

    Japan’s all-important reimbursement policy panel on December 20 approved an outline of drug pricing reforms for FY2024, which enshrines a…

    MHLW Expert Panel on Comprehensive Policies

    Expert Panel Broadly OKs Draft Report on Pharma Policies, Further Deliberations by Other Forums
    By Yoshinori Sagehashi

    The Japanese health ministry’s expert panel tasked to discuss comprehensive policies for the rapid and stable supply of pharmaceuticals generally…

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