Activities in the Life Science Business: Specific efforts

Toyama Chemical is creating pharmaceuticals by concentrating its R&D in the following three areas: the “antiinfective agents,” the “central nervous system (CNS) and cardiovascular agents,” and the “anti-inflammatory agents.” Recently, the company has created the T-5224 anti-rheumatic drug and the T-817 MA Alzheimer’s disease and is now attracting much more social attention with the development of the T-705 anti-flu agent.

As one of the reasons for this strong attention, T-705 has a working mechanism that differs from that of currentlyavailable anti-flu drugs. While existing drugs only slow down viral replication, T-705 can prevent viral replication, so it is expected to work effectively even if not taken immediately after infection. Also, T-705 is thought to be effective against viruses that are resistant to established drugs. Based on the experiments at Utah State University, T-705 has been proved to be effective for bird flu (H5N1 Type). (Toyama Chemical is now making preparations to start the pivotal phase III clinical trials for T-705 in Japan in the winter of 2009.)

Amid concerns over the pandemic of a new strain of influenza, we believe it one of our social responsibilities to market T-705 as early as possible, and we are giving first priority to the development of the drug.

• TOYAMA CHEMICAL CO., LTD.

FUJIFILM RI Pharma began marketing Zevalin® in Japan in August of 2008 jointly with Bayer Yakuhin Ltd. Zevalin® is the world’s first radioisotope (RI)-labeled antibody-based therapeutic drug for lymphatic malignancies.

Malignant Lymphoma is a kind of blood cancer. (Lymph cells that become cancerous multiply through the whole blood system.) In recent years, the number of patients suffering from this disease has been clearly increasing. Zevalin® is a drug that has both tumor recognition and destruction functions. Specifically, its major ingredient (monoclonal antibody) recognizes cancer cells and attaches to the antigen, while the radioisotope Yttrium-90 (90Y) combined with the monoclonal antibody attacks the cancer cells. The sale of this therapeutic drug had already been approved in more than 40 countries, including Europe and the United States and its marketing in Japan was long coveted.

For the manufacture of radioactive pharmaceuticals, it is necessary to have complex manufacturing technologies, and because of the decrease in radioactivity over time, it is also important to have a system to supply them speedily to medical institutions. FUJIFILM RI Pharma had been engaged in the manufacture and marketing of radioactive pharmaceuticals over 40 years and had abundant experience, knowledge, and reliable manufacturing and marketing systems for such drugs. Because of this, the company was chosen as the joint marketer for Zevalin®.

Our radioactive diagnostic pharmaceuticals have been playing an essential role in the early detection and appropriate treatment of disease. In the future, we will further develop therapeutic drugs like Zevalin®, utilizing the special features of radioactive rays.

• FUJIFILM RI Pharma Co., Ltd.

The Fujifilm Group is developing its healthcare business comprehensively for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. In November 2008, we marketed the KPD1000 air purifier as a new product in the prevention field.

In accordance with the increase in people’s health awareness, the use of air purifiers has been expanding. In response, we developed the KPD1000 by using new technologies to equip it with antibacterial and antivirotic functions. For the antibacterial filter, we have adopted highly-active ultrafine grains of organic silver, which we developed by combining our long accumulated fine organic synthesis and fine particle technologies, making it possible for the filter to release silver ions effectively.

For the antivirotic filter, we have applied the new influenza virus antibody developed by Professor Yasuhiro Tsukamoto of Kyoto Prefectural University using the yolk of ostrich eggs, and the filter has proved dramatically successful in reducing the infectivity of (2) type A Soviet (H1N1), type A Hong Kong (H3N2) and type B influenza viruses and also of the Avian flu type A (H5N1) strain.

To provide a highly air freshening effect, the KPD1000 contains two types of deodorizing filters, namely an activated carbon filter that absorbs odors and a titanium oxide photo-catalyst filter that decomposes odor compounds. We are now promoting the use of this air purifier in rooms of between 6.6 and 13 square meters, offering the benefits of being super-quiet and of low power consumption, in addition to its unique antimicrobial and antivirotic functions.