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We proactively concentrate our corporate resources on the development of new ethical drugs, in order to deliver more effective medicines to the world in the most efficient manner possible. It takes more than ten years to develop a new drug, from basic research to launch onto the market. We work on making products that meet medical needs, while accelerating improvements to the efficiency and quality of operations in the research and development processes.
Drug Discovery Research
We conduct the entire process, from exploratory research to clinical studies, primarily through joint research efforts with external research institutions.
We conduct the entire process - from research of the target disease, establishment of an in-vitro experimental system (at test tube-level and cellular-level) to elucidate the mechanism of disease production, procurement and screening of chemical compounds, optimization of the compounds, and evaluation of drug efficacy using pathological animal models and other subjects, to human clinical trials. This is primarily done through joint research efforts with external research institutions and universities. In the future, we will carry out drug discovery research targeting areas including eye diseases, immunity, and biotechnology, while expanding our research facilities and the number of researchers.
Formulation Technology Development
We have established proprietary formulation technologies, such as transdermal absorption technologies and our HOWATT® technology.
Our formulation technology development involves an exploration into and the determination of the best formulation for the expression of the efficacy of new drug candidate substances, and other operations, until we reach the point where we can launch mass production. We also have formulation technology for a wide range of products, including eye drops, ointments, patches, internal agents, liquid medicines, and health drinks. Furthermore, we have independently developed orally disintegrating tablets that use our HOWATT® technology. We have a proven track record of development of high-added-value products including ethical drugs such as transdermal patches, eye drops for glaucoma treatment, bedsore treatment medicines, and over-the-counter drugs such as ophthalmic suspensions.
Pharmacological Tests
We have established many pharmacological evaluation systems in the ophthalmologic field, built upon exploratory evaluations for additional indications and product evaluations.
We perform pharmacological tests for the efficacy evaluation of newly-developed drugs and exploratory evaluations to develop additional indications of existing drugs. In addition, in the course of its exploratory evaluations, we apply for patents for additional indications, enhanced effects through drug combination. In particular, we have established a variety of test models for ophthalmologic diseases.
