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From Local to Global—Pharma Valley Initiatives Seek a Name in the World Medical Arena

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From Local to Global—Pharma Valley Initiatives Seek a Name in the World Medical Arena Regional FDI Oppotunities From Local to Global—Pharma Valley Initiatives Seek a Name in the World Medical Arena Shizuoka Prefecture is known in Japan and abroad for its strong economy, which owes greatly to the progress of the Shizuoka Triangle Research Cluster Development Project, the joint industry- academia-government program promoted by Yoshinobu Ishikawa, governor of Shizuoka Prefecture. The Shizuoka Triangle Project has three components: the Pharma Valley Initiatives, to attract and develop the advanced medical and wellness industry in the eastern part of Shizuoka; the Food Science Hills, promoting food, drug and chemical industries in central Shizuoka; and the Photon Valley Project for the optical electronics industry in the prefecture’s western region. This special feature highlights the latest developments in the Pharma Valley Initiatives. Shizuoka: Production Base is currently one of the strongest prefec- has always been a high concentration of for Pharmaceutical Makers tures economically-speaking, we are pro- pharmaceutical makers in the eastern After the economic bubble burst in 1991, moting the Triangle Research Cluster De- part of the prefecture. Japan’s economy began to spiral down- velopment Project because we realize the In the early 1990s before the Pharma ward. This was when many Japanese cor- need to be more competitive internation- Valley Initiatives began, foreign company porations that had once operated in ally by adding high value to our existing Janssen Pharmaceutical was already oper- Shizuoka started to shift their production industries and create new businesses or ating in Shizuoka. Establishing a joint bases to Southeast Asia and China, seek- industries. Such action is vital for keep- venture with ing cheap and abundant labor. Alarmed ing Shizuoka’s economic growth stable in Kyowa Hakko by this trend, Shizuoka officials won- the face of the rapid population decline Kogyo, Janssen dered how they could stop this exodus of brought about by the falling birth rate established its re- industry offshore and attract more indus- and rapid population aging. search laboratory tries, including foreign companies, to op- “With the Shizuoka Cancer Center and in 1993. This erate in the eastern part of Shizuoka that its research center as the core, the Phar- move was fol- had long served as a production base for ma Valley Initiatives nurture a new clus- lowed by the many pharmaceutical companies. Mul- ter by attracting health-related businesses opening of its ling over various alternatives, they even- both from Japan and abroad and by con- factory in 1995. tually decided to formulate the Pharma ducting world-class research and devel- Even after dis- Dr. Yuichiro Kurosaki, Vice President, Fuji Plant & Valley Initiatives. opment in the areas from medicine to solving its part- Laboratory, Janssen Yukihisa Fukaya, director of the Busi- wellness.” nership with Pharmaceutical K.K. ness Development Office of the Prefec- Shizuoka Prefecture is remarkable for Kyowa in 2002, Janssen has continued to tural Government’s Department of Indus- having attracted the largest number of operate in Shizuoka. “We find Shizuoka a try, explains that “Shizuoka Prefecture is private industry plants from other loca- good location that is close to both Tokyo a manufacturing-oriented prefecture, tions between 2002 and 2004. It was also and the Kansai areas,” notes Dr. Yuichiro with the third largest shipments of No. 1 among all prefectures in Japan in Kurosaki, vice president of Janssen Phar- manufactured goods by value following 2004 for attracting foreign businesses. In maceutical’s Fuji Plant & Laboratory, on Aichi and Kanagawa. Although Shizuoka fact, Shizuoka has maintained its leading the attractiveness of the prefecture. To position in draw- date, Janssen has been manufactur- ing the largest ing/selling modified versions of its phar- number of for- maceutical drugs researched and devel- Sapporo eign capital com- oped abroad. With the recent revision of panies since the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, however, 1989. As such, it is now commissioning Japanese makers the prefecture to produce some of its products. “From has had a long now on, we would like to conduct re- Tokyo history of being search activities together with Shizuoka favored by nu- Prefectural University, with the Pharma Fukuoka Shizuoka Prefecture merous indus- Valley Initiatives also in mind. In the fu- Osaka Yukihisa Fukaya, Director, tries from else- ture, we hope to build up our base in Business Development where. In Japan as a pharmaceutical development Office, Department of Industry, Shizuoka Prefecture particular, there and production foothold and put our- 6 Invest Japan No.19 Regional FDI Oppotunities selves in 10th place among all drug mak- calls Dr. Ken Yamaguchi, president of the happy. We also ers in Japan. We hope to achieve these Shizuoka Cancer Center, on the enthusi- want to concen- goals by focusing on oral fast-dissolving asm of the prefecture and the governor, trate on creating tablet technology, an area in which Japan when the project plan was originally next-generation is relatively advanced,” said Dr. Kurosaki, hatched in 1995. drugs through commenting on the company’s future Boasting the third-highest income as close joint plans. well as the third-largest industry ship- research with ment value among all prefectures, industries and Aiming to Be a World Leader Shizuoka had the opportunity and the universities,” through Patient-oriented will to build a truly patient-oriented explains Dr. Dr. Ken Yamaguchi, Treatment medical facility. Hence, a hospital for the Yamaguchi. Cur- President, Shizuoka Cancer Center Under the Pharma Valley Initiatives, the sake of its patients came into being on rent research ac- period 2002 to 2006 was defined as the September 6, 2002. “But it’s not enough tivities are promoted with educational in- first strategic planning period for consoli- for the doctors to work hard. A truly stitutions such as the Tokyo Institute of dating the basis to promote medicine, patient-oriented hospital should have Technology, Waseda University and Tokyo health and industry-academia- good doctors who cure diseases, coupled University of Agriculture and Technology. government cooperation. The results and with staff who think about the patients. Meanwhile, private corporation research findings were objectively evaluated and At the same time, it should also have an partners include Fuji Film, Mitsubishi reflected in the second strategic planning outstanding line of the latest medical ap- Electric and Sunstar, as well as foreign period for the years 2007 to 2010. “We paratus and equipment. Biased thinking capital companies like Abbott Japan. felt the need to bring out all our ideas about actual treatment must be eliminat- Dr. Yamaguchi noted the uniqueness of and join forces to promote the project. ed by organizing a multi-professional the Shizuoka Cancer Center for consoli- To do so, we were urged to activate our team comprising doctors, nurses, psycho- dating an industrial cluster around a hos- project by setting specific target figures. therapists, nutritionists and others. This pital. He further pointed out that “our We also realized the need to promote ac- team should decide on the treatment di- success was due to the fact that research tions horizontally, cutting across depart- rection while respecting the patient’s topics were narrowed down to three ele- mental borders, instead of being ham- views, and cure the illness in the best ments: (1) translational research that pered by the conventional vertical possible manner, while providing thor- brings research results up to the stage of organizational structure. We have been ough support to the patient and his/her actual clinical use; (2) developed prod- promoting the Pharma Valley Initiatives family. At the same time, we must train ucts that reflect the needs of patients and with a clear industrial vision and have our staff thoroughly so that they can al- their families; and (3) joint development been reviewing our accomplishments ac- ways provide the highest level of medical of next-generation medical equipment cording to the target figures we originally treatment and service,” Dr. Yamaguchi and new products by medical technicians defined, by using the PDCA cycle,” ex- stated. and companies. Not only Japanese but plains Tsutomu Ideno, director of the Dr. Yamaguchi also notes the impor- also foreign capital companies will bene- Shizuoka Prefectural Department of tance of listening to complaints. “Our fit by this style of research.” Health and Welfare, who is in overall Yorozu Sodan (General Consultation) charge of the Pharma Valley Initiatives. Center receives roughly 12,000 ques- Next Step in Luring Foreign The focal point of this project is the tions, requests for advice, and so on a Capital Shizuoka Cancer Center. Upon the plan- year. Out of the total, around 1,000 cases For its next step, Shizuoka Prefecture will ning stage, “we asked ourselves if it was can be defined as complaints. This means expand the Pharma Valley Initiatives glob- enough to simply build a hospital. Our that we have been tackling a total of ally and try to lure the research institutes conclusion was that we should come up 5,000 complaints in the five years since and factories of world-level corporations with a hospital that provides genuine, the project started. Addressing the causes by transmitting information globally. patient-oriented services. We also wanted of such complaints squarely to resolve Pharma Valley offers numerous advan- to make the hospital the core site for them, we have tried to raise the satisfac- tages as described above. Interest is thus one-stop clinical testing that could also tion level of our patients. We will main- mounting in what kind of industries actively attract foreign capital,” explains tain this stance into the future,” notes Pharma Valley will attract and what new Mr. Ideno. Dr. Yamaguchi. As the result of these cu- products it will develop and introduce to “Conventional Japanese medical facili- mulative efforts, the Shizuoka Cancer the world.
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