In the field of vaccines, Japan is known as an under-developed nation.

Vaccines are widely used in developed countries in an active effort to prevent disease, but preventive medicine is unfortunately still largely ignored in Japan.

One reason is the side effects that occurred frequently from mass immunizations from the 1970s to 1990s. Many Japanese have subsequently resisted getting vaccinated, the government has halted mass immunizations, and Japanese pharmaceutical firms have pulled out of vaccine manufacturing, no longer able to generate profits. As a result, the nation has fallen behind in vaccine development, leaving an estimated “vaccine gap” with other developed nations of around 20 years. Today vaccines are even being developed to fight cancer, and medicine is turning its focus to cancer prevention. In last December, GSK launched a vaccine for cervical cancer. The agent, already being used in various nations, can reportedly help avert cervical cancer when combined with period medical checkups.

This year, because of the effectiveness of immunizations against swine flu, there has been much discussion over revision of the immunization law, and major pharmaceutical companies at home and abroad have been acquiring Biotechs as vaccine developers in preparation for the future vaccine market.

Cancer vaccines take special proteins that can found on a cell’s surface and administer them into the body. Immune cells in the body remember these as the “enemy”, increasing the body’s ability to fight cancer. Our pipeline includes a processing technology that maintains constant release of protein through nano particles, which can also be applied to cancer vaccines and immune cell therapy.

The thrust of medicine is shifting from treatment to prevention. Alongside the improvement in quality of life through medical treatment, we are working steadily to ensure that we can contribute to providing a better life in this brave new preventive world.

February 2010

President and CEO
Ichiro Nakatomi, Ph.D.