FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation (President: Kenji Sukeno) has announced it plans to merge TOYAMA CHEMICAL CO., LTD., a company that conducts the research, development, manufacture, and sales of small molecule pharmaceutical products, and FUJIFILM RI Pharma Co., Ltd., a company that conducts the research, development, manufacture, and sales of radiopharmaceuticals, to form FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd. as of October 1, 2018 in order to accelerate the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic drugs.
In preparation for the launch of the new company, FUJIFILM Holdings has agreed with Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd., that the company will acquire all of the shares of TOYAMA CHEMICAL held by Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings, making TOYAMA CHEMICAL a wholly-owned subsidiary on July 31, 2018.
FUJIFILM Holdings conducts its pharmaceutical business focused on the small molecule pharmaceutical products of TOYAMA CHEMICAL and the diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals of FUJIFILM RI Pharma. Along with the demand for responding to unmet medical needs, the practice of proper diagnoses that to optimize treatment have become increasingly important, and FUJIFILM Holdings seeks to accelerate the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic drugs and to further strengthen the relationship between “diagnosis” and “treatment” by merging TOYAMA CHEMICAL and FUJIFILM RI Pharma.
The new company, FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical, will closely collaborate with FUJIFILM Corporation, which conducts research on new drugs, to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals and therapeutic drugs with unique mechanisms of action in the fields of “oncology”, “central nervous system diseases”, and “infectious diseases”, all of which have considerable unmet medical needs. The company will also promote the further development of drug delivery system (DDS) technologies that deliver the required amount of a drug to the specific area of the body on the necessary schedule. Its liposome preparation technologies(*1) and micro-needle array(*2) will be applied not only to existing drugs, but expanding to promising next-generation drugs such as nucleic acid drugs and gene therapy drugs.
The company will promote the efficient clinical development of therapeutic drugs in combination with diagnostics, increasing the accuracy and speed of the introduction of new therapies. In addition, by utilizing Fujifilm’s in vitro diagnostic (IVD) devices and reagents as well as its diagnostic drugs, the company will expand its offering of comprehensive solutions from “diagnosis” to “treatment.”
The Fujifilm Group acquired manufacturing and marketing approval in Japan for Avigan® Tablets, an anti-influenza virus drug, and is conducting clinical trials of Alzheimer’s disease drug T-817MA in Japan and the U.S., as well as developing and marketing novel radiopharmaceuticals. It has also harnessed its advanced nano-dispersion technology, analysis technology, and ability to synthesize and design compounds cultivated through the photographic film business to undertake the research and development of novel anti-cancer drugs and the development of DDS technologies. Crucial to its mission, the Fujifilm Group will continue to contribute to the resolution of social issues through the creation of new value by undertaking the development of innovative treatments with high added value and by promoting the development of DDS technologies.
*1 A technology where drugs are encapsulated in particles (liposomes) that are artificially constructed vesicles made from the same organic phospholipids that make up cell and bio membranes.
*2 A drug delivery device featuring fine needles of 100 to 2000 microns in length arranged on a sheet. When the device is affixed to the surface of the skin, the medication penetrates the skin through the needles, delivering the medication into the body.
