Basic principle
Guided by the business philosophy “Helping people lead healthier, happier lives,” Nippon Shinyaku is committed to improving access to medical treatment through the concerted efforts of all divisions, including the R&D Division, with the aim of co-creating a brighter future for people living with illness. We always pursue originality and strive to create unique products. While promoting R&D in fields that no other companies have explored yet, we also work to establish a system for the prompt and stable supply of high-quality pharmaceutical products, provide support for external partners’ activities, and provide appropriate information. Each and every employee plays their part in these endeavors in order to create an environment where all patients can easily access pharmaceutical products that they need.
Nippon Shinyaku has formulated the Nippon Shinyaku Group Code of Practice to always remain highly ethical and transparent in all its activities and thereby deserve public trust.
Healthcare access improvement policy
1. Development of unique products with a focus on drugs for intractable and rare diseases
We will contribute to helping people lead healthier, happier lives by providing innovative pharmaceutical products in the disease areas with unmet medical needs.
2. Creating an accessible environment for all patients in need of pharmaceutical products
When providing needed medicines, we will strive to provide a better environment for patients, taking into consideration various backgrounds, and establish a system to supply medicines to all patients in a prompt and stable manner.
3. Promotion of proper use of pharmaceutical products
We will work to improve the public’s knowledge through provision of appropriate information and take measures against counterfeit and other illicit pharmaceutical products.
4. Support for external partners’ activities
By collaborating with and supporting the activities of external partners, we will work to improve access to healthcare in ways that we cannot achieve on our own, thereby contributing to building a society in which healthcare is delivered appropriately to all patients in need.
Our policies on intellectual property rights and patents in countries with limited access to healthcare
In some countries, people have difficulty in accessing pharmaceutical products due to economic and geographical factors.
To deliver our pharmaceutical products to as many patients as possible who need them, we will neither file patent applications nor exercise patent rights in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) defined by the United Nations and Low-Income Countries (LICs) defined by the World Bank.
We also understand that compulsory licensing will be granted as an act of necessity, as provided for in the TRIPS Agreement (an agreement that aims to protect intellectual property rights and maintain an international free trade order). In light of various circumstances, we believe that we should respond flexibly to individual cases when compulsory licensing is required.
Related Initiatives
Development of pharmaceutical products for rare diseases
It is said that there are currently more than 7,000 intractable and rare diseases for which effective treatments have not been established and that many people suffer from them. Nippon Shinyaku has been a pioneer in R&D focusing on these intractable and rare diseases and has promoted product life-cycle management (PLCM) aimed at increasing the value of products, the in-licensing of products of other companies, and open innovation activities. We will also consider utilizing data from clinical trials we have so far conducted to apply for manufacturing and marketing approval in countries where approval is likely to be obtained.
Improvement of access to pharmaceutical products in consideration of specific regional circumstances
When executing our intellectual property rights in order to provide necessary pharmaceutical products, we take into account the specific circumstances of each country, including applicable regulations.
We will also consider selling our products at prices that are appropriate in light of the medical system, the insurance system, national living standards, and other factors in each country.
Establishment of a favorable medical environment
Disease awareness-raising and patient support programs
Clinical trials are conducted in a limited number of countries for a limited period of time, with the participation of a limited number of patients. Therefore, to help patients only with a very limited choice of medical treatments, we have been implementing programs for providing our pharmaceutical products in countries where those products are not yet approved. We also offer information about diseases and treatments to not only specialists in specific fields but also non-specialist medical professionals. We work to enhance cooperation between specialist and non-specialist medical professionals with the aim of offering patients smoother access to specialist treatments. We also run a disease awareness-raising website and a website that provides information on medical institutions, both of which are intended for patients, as well as providing patient support programs.
Support through partnerships with NPOs
We are working to improve the medical environment in low- and middle-income countries through partnerships with NPOs and other organizations to resolve issues related to access to healthcare in those countries.
Awarding research grants
As part of the project to celebrate the centenary of its founding, Nippon Shinyaku launched the Nippon Shinyaku Research Grant program to contribute to scientific advancement in the medical and pharmaceutical fields in which the Company operates. This program aims to support young researchers by calling for research projects and awarding grants to eligible applicants.
Disease Awareness-Raising Activities
Website-based awareness-raising activities
Nippon Shinyaku promotes disease awareness and provides information through its websites with the aim of improving patients’ QOL through early consultation, early diagnosis, and early treatment and of helping diagnosed patients deepen their understanding of their disease.
The website “Pulmonary Hypertension Medical Care Support,” opened in 2017, provides information that helps viewers deepen their understanding about pulmonary hypertension (PH): what is it like, how it is treated, medical expenses, related public services, and video messages from specialist physicians. In addition, in order to draw attention to pulmonary hypertension associated with scleroderma, which is often overlooked among pulmonary hypertension, we opened a website titled “Do You Know the Complications of Scleroderma? – Shortness of Breath and PH (Japanese Only)” in 2020. Through the website, we provide information on symptoms, tests, and treatments related to scleroderma and pulmonary hypertension, which occurs with it.
Moreover, in the field of pediatric neurology, we launched the specialized information site for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) “Learn about DMD (Japanese Only)” in 2021 and the website “With Dravet Syndrome (Japanese Only)” in 2022. These sites provide information such as disease knowledge, treatment, and support for daily life to families with children with DMD and Dravet syndrome, which are designated incurable diseases.
We also operate websites such as the following:
- “Learn about Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) (Japanese Only),” which explains MDS, one of the blood diseases, and its classification, prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment
- “Alcoholism Treatment Navigation,” which explains alcoholism and shows testimonials by those who have successfully overcome alcoholism
- “Tell Me: Painful Periods,”which recommends early medical consultations for endometriosis and dysmenorrhea
- “ED Care Support,” which provides information intended to dispel commonly held myths about ED (Erectile Dysfunction) and ease psychological resistance to seeking medical attention and also warns against fake ED treatment medicines with related information
- “Learn about Prostate Diseases – Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, Prostatitis, and Prostate Cancer (Japanese Only),” which summarizes information on diseases related to the prostate
- “Lean about Urolithiasis (Japanese Only),” which explains urolithiasis, a disease whose main complaint is pain and which often recurs
Participation in “Rare Disease Day”
On the occasion of “Rare Disease Day,” which is internationally observed on the last day of February each year, Nippon Shinyaku carries out activities aimed at deepening general understanding about rare and intractable diseases.
Each year, we focus on one rare disease and hold interviews with physicians specializing in the disease or panel discussions with specialists and students. These events are often covered in newspapers.
Open seminars
We also hold public lectures on various areas of health problems, which provide easy-to-understand explanations by specialists about disease prevention and treatment. For patient support activities, we plan to continue holding online public lectures and exchange events on pulmonary hypertension and muscular dystrophy.
Media seminars
Nippon Shinyaku organizes study meetings for media representatives wherein specialists and opinion leaders well versed in selected subjects discuss the latest news from the pharmaceutical or healthcare fields and transmit otherwise complex specialized information. These study meetings facilitate journalists to write stories on medical topics with more accurate and detailed information, thus better informing the general public in turn.
