President's Message

The Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA), is an organization formed by R&D-based pharmaceutical companies that strive to enhance the health and welfare of people in and outside of Japan through bringing innovative and highly effective drugs to the market, and through further development of the pharmaceutical industry.

Life science research on using genomics and proteomics technologies has led to dramatic strides in the 21st century. R&D has been picking up steam, leading to the discovery of new drugs such as antibody drugs and molecular-targeting drugs. New research with the potential to bring about major changes in future medical technologies, such as the discovery of iPS cells, is also proceeding at a rapid pace. With the objective of apply these research outcomes to the discovery of innovative new drugs, each JPMA member company is putting efforts on aggressive research activities.

The first "Government and Industry Policy Dialogues"* was held in January 2007, with the second held in April of the same year. Based on the two discussions, a "Five-Year Strategy for Innovative Medicines" was established to drive the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries to propel Japan's growth, and to swiftly provide the world's highest-level drugs and medical devices to the people of Japan. Under these circumstances, expectations are high for the R&D-based pharmaceutical companies, which through bringing innovative drugs originating in Japan to the market, continue to provide the outcomes of their innovation to society. In response to social needs, the JPMA has been and will continue to carry out a range of activities to further enhance the R&D capabilities and global competitiveness of Japanese pharmaceutical companies.

The JPMA celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2008. With the goal of transforming our member companies into an industry that contributes to global healthcare with a distinct character and visibility, we will continue to make recommendations to the relevant ministries and agencies, and will carry out vigorous public relations activities to realize "patient-centered healthcare."

*Ministerial dialogues proposed by the JPMA as an opportunity for direct talks among the parties involved for the purpose of facilitating harmonization between healthcare-related social securities policies and industrial policies, improving the infrastructure to stimulate creation of new drugs, and so on. The first dialogue was held in January 2007. Attendants from the government were the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare; the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry; and the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Attendants from the pharmaceutical industry were the Chairman of the JPMA, the Chairman of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Associations of Japan (FPMAJ) and other leaders of the industry. Major representatives from the medical field also attended the meeting.