Gate Opening Summit for Innovative Drug Discovery

On July 30, 2024, Prime Minister Kishida attended the Gate Opening Summit for Innovative Drug Discovery at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on initiatives that contribute to a drug discovery ecosystem and future policies, including an ideal form of a public-private committee.

Prime Minister Kishida said in his remarks:

“I am KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan. Today a large number of people from at home and abroad are participating in the Gate Opening Summit for Innovative Drug Discovery, including those watching the conference via live viewing at another venue. I would like to express my sincere appreciation for your cooperation.

The Kishida administration regards it as one of its most important policies to enhance Japan’s drug discovery capabilities and swiftly deliver novel drugs to the people. We appointed Dr. KAMOSHITA Ichiro as Special Advisor to the Cabinet and have held meetings of the Council of the Concept for Drug Discovery Capabilities since the end of last year at the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Council compiled an interim report in May.

I hereby declare that the Government will commit itself to its policy of establishing Japan as a place of drug discovery that can contribute to people around the world. The pharmaceutical industry is an important growth industry that can harness Japan’s science and technology capabilities. We will vigorously promote measures to make it as a key industry that will lead the growth of the country in the future.

Specifically, we will definitely bring three policies into reality.

Firstly, we will establish implementation systems for clinical trials and studies at an international level, including the establishment of ones for first-in-human (FIH) testing system, so that we can attract development efforts not only from Japan, but also from around the globe.

Secondly, we will attract overseas pharmaceutical companies and venture capital firms to build environments and systems in Japan that can provide seamless support for academia and startups in fostering seeds through the stage of commercialization.

Thirdly, we will double private investments in drug discovery startups by 2028, five years from now, and produce more than ten such startups with corporate value of over 10 billion yen by enabling support for drug discovery startup ecosystem projects at an earlier stage, among other measures. By doing so, we will realize a system in which investments and innovation will continuously take place.

The strategic goal and action plan announced today is our domestic and international pledge that we will put into concrete action the recommendations of the Council of the Concept for Drug Discovery Capabilities into specific action on a government-wide basis.

The origin of drug discovery lies in patients eagerly waiting for new treatments. Unfortunately, there is drug loss; the development of pharmaceuticals approved in the Europe and United States has not been launched in Japan. These medicines include many therapeutic drugs that are difficult to develop due to a small number of patients as well as medicines for pediatric use. I heard that there are situations in which such patients have no chance but to choose a method that places a heavy burden on them, such as personal imports or overseas travel.. We do not want patients to feel this way, and we want to make Japan a place of drug discovery that contributes to not only patients in Japan, but also those in the rest of the world. These thoughts have provided impetus for the Government’s latest initiatives.

We must remember to listen to the voice of patients and their family members in working toward the resolution of drug loss and forging ahead with the development of medicines for children or rare diseases. Today we are joined by Mr. AKIYAMA Takeyuki of the Japanese Lysosome disease Patients and Family Association, one of the rare diseases. I hope that afterwards he will express expectations for these initiatives to improve drug discovery capabilities, so that not a single child combating rare diseases will be left behind.

We are also aware that drug manufacturers have traditionally engaged in various activities to reflect the voice of patients. We intend to work hard together with them so that they will be able to put even more effort into such activities and meet the wishes of patients to receive new treatments.

We will do everything within our power to create an environment for improving drug discovery capabilities on a whole-of-government basis. Unfortunately, however, the Government alone cannot actually deliver innovative medicines to patients. It is all of you present here and all of you watching the conference via live viewing at another venue who bear the role of drug discovery. You have a leading role to play.

Today’s summit enjoys the participation of various Japanese and overseas players involved in drug discovery. For instance, they include pharmaceutical companies inside and outside Japan and their relevant organizations, universities that play a pivotal role in basic research and generate drug discovery seeds, drug discovery startups, venture capital firms and incubators that support startups and others, as well as Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs) that back up research and development within a drug discovery model with horizontal division of roles, medical institutions that carry out clinical studies, especially first-in-human testing, people involved in drug discovery from such perspective as data utilization, and members of patients associations. A total of 43 such people from the public and private sectors are present here. At the same time, many other people are expected to take part in this summit from the live viewing venue.

No one present here alone can discover and develop new treatments, produce innovative new medicines, and deliver them to patients. Players engaged in drug discovery collaborate with each other, and they take turns supporting and fostering development, sometimes as if they pass the baton. It is only then when new drugs come into being.

Today’s summit sees the participation of all the players necessary for drug discovery from Japan and abroad. I hope that you will use this event today to make your circle of connections grow larger and stronger. My hope is that you will actively deepen exchanges with people sitting next to you, or those close to you in the networking session in the second part of the summit, among other people.

I would like to request that you actively present proposals to the Government regarding the creation of an environment for enhanced drug discovery capabilities, including an ideal form of a public-private committee to be established in the next fiscal year, in addition to introducing your initiatives.

We will seek to rebuild and restrengthen Japan’s drug discovery foundations to make the country one of the world’s drug discovery bases. To this end, we will maintain and enhance research capabilities of academia including in the domestic medical field and produce star scientists. In addition, we will promote initiatives under which those with experience in drug discovery assist the preparation of early-stage research and development plans from the perspective of commercialization, having experts in basic research and commercialization research work together, so that they would identify their seeds and make them a catalyst for drug discovery. I invite you to examine measures to further expand these initiatives through concerted efforts by the public and private sectors.

The Kishida administration positions the pharmaceutical industry as a growth and key industry, and on the part of the Government, we pledge domestically and internationally to secure necessary budgets for developing systems and foundations to attract further private investments and make government-wide efforts to put into concrete action the recommendations of the Council of the Concept for Drug Discovery Capabilities.

We hope that industrial circles will advance structural reforms in light of government policies, drug discovery environments, and changing market environments.

There is no border for a drug discovery ecosystem. It will develop only when it is connected with other ecosystems in the world and their players and harness their power, without being confined domestically. With regard to a drug discovery ecosystem Japan aims to establish, we will approach the world in an extensive manner and make Japan a place of drug discovery that contributes to people around the globe, including Asia, by concentrating human resources and capital from at home and abroad. We will play an important role in the development of medical drugs necessary especially for the Asia Pacific region, where the disease structure is expected to change due to a surging number of elderly people.

I believe that today’s summit serves as a starting point for Japan to become a country that will be able to deliver drugs patients inside and outside the country are eagerly waiting for. I have confidence that if all of us who have gathered here from at home and abroad work together, we can make it happen. Let’s work hard together. Once again, I would like to extend my appreciation for your cooperation for the summit.”