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What motivated your company to engage in global health?

We have long been interested in contributing to global health and Access to Health using our company’s technologies and capabilities. Improving Access to Health is one of the most important pillars of our corporate social responsibility (CSR). Indeed, we have made strong commitments to solve problems related to Access to Health in our Strategic Plan 2015-2017.

Our company’s former chairman, Mr. Nogimori, was appointed Vice President of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations in 2010. He played a major role in Astellas’ initial engagement in global health. Through his appointment, we gained greater awareness of the importance of various global health issues and countermeasures through dialogues with other global pharmaceutical companies, the World Health Organization, and governments of other nations. Since then, we have proactively considered how to utilize our capabilities in support of global health, which, as I mentioned, is a CSR priority.

Our efforts started around 2010, when infectious diseases were one of our company’s focus therapeutic areas. Astellas has various formulation technologies, so it made sense to contribute to Access to Health using those technologies. Subsequently, we began to engage in various projects, such as infectious diseases collaborations with other partners from industry, government, and academia, as well as the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium for schistosomiasis.

At first glance, this activity does not directly contribute to your bottom line as a company. What motivated Astellas’ management team to make this commitment?

As the story goes, in an academic conference held in Holland in 2011, one of the members of Astellas’ development division happened to be seated next to a representative of Merck KGaA, which originally developed praziquantel. The Merck KGaA had contributed to control schistosomiasis treatment with praziquantel. However, as previously mentioned, the current formulation could not be successfully used for treating infants and preschool-aged children. The Merck KGaA, representative’s passion for solving this challenge resonated with the Astellas scientist. This interaction catalyzed internal discussions about whether our formulation technologies could be used.

So why did the management support this initiative? In the end, I believe the priority given to Access to Health in our CSR was the driving factor. The pharmaceutical industry itself has long contributed to society by creating new drugs. We believe that making use of our company’s technologies and capabilities for broader unmet needs can help millions of patients who are living with and fighting diseases.

It is important to acknowledge that the pharmaceutical business requires long-term, high-risk investment in research and development (R&D). If definite commercial success is not guaranteed, even if sufficient medical needs exists, the priority for the R&D tends to decrease. The activities of the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium themselves do not lead to short-term or direct business profits. However, the return for human health is enormous, and very valuable to us.

Additionally, there is also strategic value in the relationships with partner companies we developed through activities like the Consortium, local partnerships and networks inside developing countries, understanding of specific issues faced by developing countries, and relationships with each nation’s government. Ultimately, these activities enhance our enterprise value by earning trusts from stakeholders and help us execute on our mission. In this sense, there was absolutely no reason for the management to object to this partnership.

Astellas is a founding partner of the GHIT Fund. What features of the GHIT model or approach were most appealing to your management team when the institution was first conceived?

As I previously mentioned, we have developed a strategy of engaging in global health issues, including R&D. Actually, at the same time that this strategy was first being implemented, we were also involved in early discussions about GHIT’s establishment. GHIT’s objectives of supporting the R&D of new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for controlling infectious diseases in developing countries and the commitment to solve these problems through global partnerships were very unique. At the same time, I was impressed by GHIT’s unique public-private partnership model. This particular scheme, facilitating concrete engagement and funding from the governments, private sectors, and foundations—aimed at addressing global issues that cannot be resolved by a single company alone—was truly innovative. This inspired me to ensure our participation in GHIT. Importantly, we did not receive any objections from our stakeholders including shareholders.

Obviously, companies should invest in profitable projects. On the other hand, I believe that also engaging in activities that make a social value and fulfill social responsibility rather than just pursuing commercial success not only enhances trust from our stakeholders but also increases the overall value of the company.

How do you think the Japanese pharmaceutical industry’s overall engagement in global health R&D has evolved over the past five years?

I believe that GHIT has catalyzed a mindset shift for the Japanese pharmaceutical industry vis-à-vis global health R&D. Global health is clearly an international and cross-border issue. Our company is a member of the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA), which has 72 pharmaceutical companies as members, all of whom, I believe, have all experienced this mindset shift following GHIT’s establishment. More specifically, GHIT created a mechanism for these companies to take leadership roles in solving global health issues by combining their R&D expertise and capabilities in cooperation with those of governments, international organizations, and non-profits. This contribution is a direct result of GHIT’s establishment.

Next, while it is difficult for private companies to take long-term risks in the field of global health on their own, GHIT’s support appears to have greatly boosted the active engagement of the pharmaceutical industry in this arena.

Furthermore, GHIT’s global network of stakeholders is extremely valuable. GHIT catalyzed partnerships between the Japanese pharma industry and global entities that we would not have been able to create on our own. Additionally, GHIT has expanded our awareness of partners that are engaged in the same issues. This has played a major role in helping us to leverage our capabilities and technologies to solve global health issues.

Looking ahead to the next five years, what kind of initiatives will be necessary to further leverage Japanese innovation for global health?

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare created the Japan Vision: Health Care 2035, which includes becoming a global health leader as a key target. JPMA also stated in its Industry Vision 2025 that it would provide innovative drugs to 8 billion people worldwide. In that respect, I believe we can deliver Japan’s innovation to patients suffering from diseases worldwide through open innovation in partnership with entities around the world.

The affiliations and positions listed in this interview are at the time of publication of the interview in 2017.