Teijin Pharma seeks synergies between its Pharmaceuticals and Home Healthcare businesses
Characteristics of Research and Development
Teijin Pharma makes the most of the Teijin Group's technological foundations as a manufacturer of high-performance fibers and chemical materials, together with the leading-edge technologies of the group's IT company. These foci, together with ongoing efforts to improve Quality of Life for patients, enable Teijin Pharma to launch a host of innovative products.
Uniquely, the R&D laboratories at Teijin Pharma have two channels through which to realize their results: the Pharmaceuticals business and Home Healthcare business. Teijin Pharma has achieved better Quality of Life for patients by providing both pharmaceuticals and home healthcare devices for the same diseases.
In the field of Respiratory Disease, for example, Teijin Pharma launched the asthma drug Alvesco® and a telemedicine system for asthma patients. For Bone and Joint Diseases, it offers anti-osteoporosis drugs such as Bonalon® and Onealfa®, as well as SAFHS®, a bone fracture therapeutic device using ultrasound. Teijin Pharma continues to research and develop total healthcare services for both its Pharmaceuticals and Home Healthcare businesses.
Onealfa® has established a new application
Onealfa® is the first drug launched by Teijin Pharma for the treatment of Bone and Joint Diseases. The agent was originally developed by Teijin Pharma as an Active Vitamin D3 preparation for improved calcium metabolism in patients with renal failure. Subsequently, a bone mass measurement technology developed by Teijin Pharma demonstrated that Onealfa® actually improved calcium metabolism, inhibited bone density loss, and prevented bone fractures in osteoporosis patients. Onealfa® is now widely recognized as an effective anti-osteoporosis drug.
Venilon® to challenge intractable diseases
Venilon®, an intravenous human immunoglobulin preparation, is a plasma derivative launched by Teijin Pharma under a co-development project carried out with the Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Research Institute. Venilon® is administered to patients with severe infections and patients with intractable diseases such as Kawasaki disease or Guillain-Barre syndrome. With the development of proprietary purification methods such as Teijin's viral inactivation and removal treatments, Venilon® can also be used as protection against various viruses. Clinical trials on immunoglobulin products indicated for other diseases are ongoing.
Achievements and Visions in Development
Examples of achievement
Pharmaceuticals business - success in new areas
Teijin Pharma has enhanced its status (influence) by developing new drugs, launching licensed products, and making strong headway against diseases for which well-demonstrated therapeutic modalities were previously unavailable. We first marketed Onealfa® and Bonalon® for the treatment of osteoporosis, a disease for which no therapeutic agent had been developed. Later, in the 1990's, steady efforts to develop pioneering drugs for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases area bore fruits in the current development pipeline. The novel anti-gout agent TMX-67 (generic name: febuxostat) was a foremost achievement in this disease category.
Home Healthcare business - a leading company of HOT business
Teijin Pharma has driven the development of innovative products such as its Mildsanso® and Hi-Sanso® series, along with its prevalent therapeutic systems, to improve Quality of Life for patients with chronic respiratory failure and chronic heart failure. Teijin Pharma continues to pursue not only ongoing improvement of the essential functions of these devices, but also compactness, lighter weights, energy efficiency, noiseless operation, and improved operability. Teijin Pharma, as a leading company of Home Oxygen Therapy (HOT) business, will continue to develop and provide more beneficial products and services.
Future vision and prospects
Pharmaceuticals business - scientific meetings for the exchange of knowledge
Teijin Pharma promotes scientific exchange of knowledge to accelerate R&D on pharmaceuticals internationally, outside of a corporate framework. Effective drugs must be developed as rapidly as possible to meet the needs and expectations of patients waiting for new drugs. As an example, Teijin Pharma sponsors the "Bone Biology Forum" - a scientific meeting for the exchange of knowledge among clinical researchers. The forum has invited dozens of researchers from overseas, including potential Nobel Prize candidates in the field of bone metabolism. Teijin thus assumes a pioneering role for domestic and overseas pharmaceutical research on Bone and Joint Diseases.
Home Healthcare business - for better home healthcare
The R&D efforts of Teijin Pharma in the Home Healthcare business is not limited to improved functions and performance for medical devices used at home. Our researchers strive to improve the efficacy and safety of home healthcare from every angle. Teijin Pharma has already launched an asthma telemedicine system to support asthma treatment by measuring data on peak expiratory flow (PEF) at the patient's home and transmitting it to medical institutions. We will continue to research and develop medical devices and systems for linking patients at home with their medical facilities.
License-in an business deployment of CPAP
Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) has been gaining attention as a potentially fatal syndrome. Teijin Pharma has licensed in a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device for treating SAS from an Australian company. Practically speaking, this license-in approach took the form of a joint development under which Teijin improved the functions of the device and added new functions suited for the needs of the Japanese market. CPAP also alleviates the symptoms of abnormal breathing observed in patients with brain disorders or cardiac failure. Teijin Pharma is marketing products in this area through workshops with physicians.
Unknown episode on TMX-67 R&D
The novel anti-gout agent TMX-67 is the first drug of its type launched in forty years. Voices from the frontlines of clinical practice alerted us to the need for alternative pharmaceuticals for patients with side effects that prevent them from using the conventional treatment. In response, Teijin Pharma discovered and developed a drug with a novel chemical structure effective in reducing uric acid. TMX-67 exerts selective and strong action by only fitting the target enzyme molecules.
The efficacy of TMX-67 has been demonstrated not only for the patients unable to use conventional therapeutic agents due to side effects and deteriorated renal function, but also for the patients with gout and hyperuricemia.
About the research
Product development situation
September, 2010
| product | diseases for which a particular medicine is indicated | development situation |
|---|---|---|
| TMX-67 | gout, hyperuricemia | Re-applied on Dec. 25, 2009 |
| Venilon® | Churg-Strauss syndrome | Approved for supplemental NDA on Jan. 20, 2010 |
| BTR-15K | bronchial asthma from infant | Applied for supplemental NDA on Mar. 30, 2010 |
| TV-02H | psoriasis vulgaris | Applied for supplemental NDA on Sep. 20, 2010 (China) |
| Venilon® | multiple sclerosis | PH Ⅲ |
| GTH-42V | osteoporosis | PH Ⅲ |
| ITM-014 | acromegaly | PH Ⅲ |
| ITM-077 | type 2 diabetes | PH Ⅱ |
| NTC-801 | atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter | PH Ⅱ |
| ITM-058 | osteoporosis | PH Ⅰ |
| GTH-42J | osteoporosis | PH Ⅰ |
EBM and the Cochrane Collaboration
Evidence-based medicine (EBM), that is, medicine based on clinical evidence, has been gaining recognition globally since the latter half of the 1990's. The Cochrane Collaboration leads a global project to promote the EBM concept in fifteen Cochrane centers worldwide through the active participation of many researchers and healthcare professionals. Teijin Pharma supports the Cochrane Collaboration and its activities in Japan.
Future development
With its advanced potential for technology development, Teijin Pharma continues to pursue new treatment solutions for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases such as heart failure, as well as Respiratory Diseases such as sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In the field of Respiratory Disease, we explore the links between our Pharmaceuticals business for respiratory diseases and our Home Healthcare business with core therapies - Home Oxygen Therapy (HOT) and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). The synergetic effects of these links help us to provide healthcare professionals and patients with total pharmaceuticals and home healthcare.
