Policy for Responsible Advertising and Marketing/Information Provision Activities
Based on its corporate philosophy of “Helping People Lead Healthier, Happier Lives,” the Nippon Shinyaku Group conducts responsible advertising and marketing/information provision activities that take into account its social responsibility. We will listen to the voices of our stakeholders and reflect requests and opinions obtained through dialogue with them in our corporate activities.
Advertising
To convey an appropriate brand image to our stakeholders, we have unified visual images such as the corporate logo and have developed internal regulations and manuals. In particular, we give due consideration to slander, discriminatory expression, religious and political beliefs, the environment, the privacy of third parties, confidential information, information disclosure, and intellectual property rights.
Marketing/Information Provision Activities
Through compliance with the Guidelines on Ethical Drug Detailing Activities established by MHLW, establishment of internal rules, and internal training, we ensure that the content and expressions do not infringe on the trust or reputation of others, nor cause misunderstanding or discomfort.
Individual Policies
[Pharmaceuticals Division]
With the aim of pursuing originality endlessly and creating unique products, every Nippon Shinyaku employee is committed to promoting R&D in frontier fields that no other companies have explored yet, establishing a system for a stable and prompt supply of high-quality pharmaceutical products, and appropriately providing medical professionals with information.
[Functional Food Division]
As a functional food division promoted by a pharmaceutical company, we believe that product quality and safety are of primary importance. We strive every day to enhance the reliability of our products by continuing to improve the quality control systems of our raw material suppliers and manufacturing subcontractors and to improve our in-house systems and educate personnel.
Product quality assurance
[Pharmaceuticals Division]
- ・Safety assurance, facilitation of proper use
To provide high-quality products both in Japan and abroad, we will establish a quality assurance system that meets global standards and thereby maintain the quality of our products. We will also constantly improve product quality through management reviews. Moreover, throughout the entire process, from the product development stage to the post-marketing stage, we collect, assess, and examine data on adverse reactions and other matters from safety reports submitted in Japan and abroad in order to rapidly provide medical professionals and patients with information necessary for assuring safety.
[Functional Food Division]
We have established the Food Safety Committee, which meets regularly to share information on the quality and other aspects of raw materials, products, merchandise, and supplements, respond to quality problems and complaints, and draw up measures for recurrence prevention. Moreover, the Functional Food Division provides all its staff members with monthly risk management training with the aim of heightening their awareness of quality assurance and increasing their knowledge of laws and regulations on food advertisement and labeling, including the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations and the Food Labeling Standards. Thus, we strive to develop human resources who can contribute to solving social issues. We also conduct regular internal audits of food advertisement and labeling to enhance the confidence of all stakeholders, including customers and suppliers, in us.
Related Initiatives
[Pharmaceuticals Division]
- ・Response to counterfeit pharmaceutical products
To realize a safe medical environment, we have been implementing anti-counterfeit measures in cooperation with the regulatory authorities and other pharmaceutical companies. We have also adopted independent measures to prevent counterfeiting and illegal distribution in the production and logistics processes with the aim of sweeping away counterfeit and illegal pharmaceutical products.
- ・Ethical promotion activities
To ensure the appropriateness of its promotion activities, Nippon Shinyaku has formulated a Promotion Code and established an internal system for achieving compliance with both applicable laws and regulations and voluntary standards. This code applies in the same way to all activities that are regarded as promotion activities, irrespective of whether or not those activities are conducted by the Sales and Marketing Division. All Nippon Shinyaku Group companies are also required to comply with this code. Furthermore, when partnering external parties in the sales and promotion of pharmaceutical products, Nippon Shinyaku requests those partners to comply with this code.
We recognize that printed materials used for promotion, advertisements placed in technical magazines and newspapers, websites targeting medical professionals, videos, and other materials are important means of providing pharmaceutical information. We strive to ensure the scientific basis, accuracy, fairness, and objectivity of the content of those materials in line with the Act on Securing Quality, Efficacy and Safety of Products Including Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices and our in-house standards*. We use those materials after they are examined and approved by an in-house committee, including external members. When providing medical professionals with information about our products on our website, we clearly states that the information is intended only for medical professionals.
Abroad too, we provide internationally consistent pharmaceutical information to medical professionals in compliance with pharmaceutical laws, regulations, and codes that apply in each country.
We also offer regular training to our employees in charge of promotion to increase their awareness and expertise and thereby enable them to conduct appropriate promotion activities.
[Functional Food Division]
- ・Improving access to highly nutritious foods
The Japanese super-aged society currently faces the social challenge of extending healthy life expectancy. The Japanese government encourages self-medication and self-care to reduce national healthcare expenditure. We develop products suited for the complete and balanced nutrition field, such as protein-fortified foods aimed at improving health and extending healthy expectancy and concentrated liquid foods used at medical institutions and care facilities for the elderly. With priority on safety and quality that we have built up as a pharmaceutical company, we also work to improve the quality of life of all people and solve social issues by providing products that are cost-conscious to ensure affordability for all.
Furthermore, due to the recent shifts to fast and easy food and eating alone, imbalanced nutrition and skipping breakfast have become major social issues, especially among children. With the aim of helping solve these social issues, we promote food education in collaboration with local governments, educational institutions, and other organizations. Specifically, we hold on-site classes once a month at elementary schools in Kyoto Prefecture and sports nutrition seminars for top athletes and students active in club activities. We will continue our activities to improve access to nutrition through product development and the promotion of food education in order to solve serious social issues related to food for young and elderly people.
- ・Enhancing nutrition for the elderly and children
Lack of protein and other nutrients in the elderly and malnutrition in children living in environments where it is difficult to prepare enough breakfast for them have become major issues. To address malnutrition in the elderly, we support the development of nutritional supplements and liquid foods that prevent frailty and sarcopenia. We have also developed Junior Protein, which allows children to easily take protein, which is essential for building their bodies during the years of growing up, and it has reached many families.
- ・Providing appropriate information regarding the negative effects of nutritional supplements
Supplements, also known as nutritional supplements, are a type of food whose role is to replenish nutrients that are lacking in people’s daily diet. However, supplements are sometimes taken as a meal replacement, which can have negative effects, such as imbalanced nutrition and decreased digestive function.
To reduce these negative effects and improve health, Nippon Shinyaku conducts food education activities with the aim of spreading awareness of the importance of taking nutrients from one’s daily diet.
- ・Balancing deliciousness and safety
To maintain the safety and security of food, it is necessary to control the growth of microorganisms, and as a result, food additives are often used. Meanwhile, bacteriostatic agents, which are originally intended to make food preservable, can spoil the flavor of food. Nippon Shinyaku has established a unique formulation technology called the MIKAKUFINE production method, which has stable pH adjustment effects, achieving both deliciousness and safety. This not only helps solve the social issue of reducing food loss but also helps people lead happier lives.
Participating in industry initiatives
[Pharmaceuticals Division]
Nippon Shinyaku is a member of many industrial organizations, including the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA), the Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Associations of Japan (FPMAJ), the Kansai Pharmaceutical Industries Association (KPIA), the Fair Trade Council of Ethical Pharmaceutical Drugs Marketing Industry, the Risk/Benefit Assessment of Drugs-Analysis and Response (RAD-AR) Council, Japan, the Japan Pharmaceutical Information Center (JAPIC), the Japan Pharmaceutical Industry Legal Affairs Association (IHOKEN), and the Japan Society of Quality Assurance (JSQA). The company has formulated in-house rules in conformity with applicable codes and guidelines established by these organizations and trains its employees to fully comply with those in-house rules.
[Functional Food Division]
Nippon Shinyaku acts as a board member of the Japan Food Additives Association and participates in the technical committee that deals with matters related to the quality, technology, and usefulness of food additives and related laws and regulations. In addition, we belong to four specialized subcommittees related to the products we manufacture and sell, and we also attend monthly information liaison meetings to collect related information. Through these efforts, we accurately and quickly obtain a variety of information on food additives and related foods, which in turn helps us spread correct knowledge within the company regarding product manufacturing, sales, quality, laws and regulations, and other matters.