Even today as we see remarkable developments in the medical field, there are many diseases against which no effective treatment exists. Also, in low- and lower middle-income countries, there are many people who have difficulty receiving necessary medical care due to various reasons such as inadequate medical infrastructure and poverty. Under the corporate philosophy “Dedicated to Man’s Fight against Disease and Pain,” we aim to improve access to healthcare by pursuing these goals: the development of innovative pharmaceutical products, improvement of medical infrastructure, and establishment of partnerships with outside parties. We currently sell our pharmaceutical products ourselves in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan; in Asia, including Japan, we will make efforts for improving access to healthcare including the treatment of rare diseases. In regions other than Asia, we will make efforts to provide pharmaceuticals with the help of our partner companies. We will also work on supporting medium- to long-term activities to strengthen medical systems by means such as medical education and the development of medical infrastructure through partnerships with NPOs and the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund.

The Direction of our efforts

• Promotion of research and development for measures against diseases for which patients’ medical needs are not yet met, rare diseases, and intractable diseases
• Local medical education, training of medical personnel, improvement of medical supplies in countries and regions where medical infrastructure is not fully developed
• Strengthening the medical system through partnerships with external parties

Our Policies on Intellectual Property Rights and on Patents in Countries with Limited Access to Healthcare

We strive to continually develop innovative drugs through appropriate protection and use of various types of intellectual property generated during the course of drug development, while at the same time respecting intellectual property rights owned by third parties. In some countries, people have difficulty access to healthcare due to economic reasons. To deliver our innovative drugs to more patients worldwide, we will neither apply for nor enforce patent rights in Least Developed Countries defined by the United Nations^*1 and Low Income Countries defined by the World Bank^*2. We also will not file patent applications or enforce rights in Lower Middle Income Countries defined by the World Bank^*3 with the exception of some countries.

• Least Developed Countries defined by the United Nations: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category.html
• Low Income Countries defined by the World Bank: https://data.worldbank.org/income-level/low-income
• Lower-middle Income Countries defined by the World Bank: https://data.worldbank.org/income-level/lower-middle-income

Promotion Management System

The management team oversees the directions for the improvement of access to healthcare and the details of the efforts.
New efforts associated with access to healthcare will be deliberated on and approved by the CSR Committee, chaired by the Corporate Executive Officer / Head of Corporate Communications. Its activities are periodically reported to the Management Meeting which is chaired by the CEO.

Efforts to obtain approval for pediatric use

Working on the treatment of rare diseases is important so as to improve access to healthcare. We make the following efforts to develop and provide pharmaceuticals for rare diseases.

(As of August 21, 2020)

In addition, Opdivo is designated as a target item under the Priority Assessment Designation System, specified by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, that targets bile duct cancer.

Efforts to obtain approval for children

Medication evaluated appropriately for children should be used for pediatric patients. Aiming to improve pediatric patients’ access to healthcare products, we are working on the flexible approval for children as follows.

(As of August 21, 2020)

Efforts Made against Intractable Diseases

Together with Keio University, Kochi University, the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, and Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., we established the Immune-mediated Inflammatory Diseases Consortium for Drug Development for the purpose of drug development research targeting intractable immuno inflammatory diseases in May 2018. It is expected that the achievements of this consortium will lead to the creation of next-generation pharmaceuticals with high utility against intractable immunoinflammatory diseases and also enable the provision of new treatment options for patients and healthcare professionals.

ONO SWITCH Project

As an initiative to promote both medical system support and work style reform, we started ONO SWITCH Project in August 2018. Under this initiative, donations are made to medical-related NPOs/NGOs using the money saved by reducing overtime payments through work style reform. The Project aims to contribute to the promotion of work style reform and healthcare, and people’s health around the world, thereby further promoting our corporate philosophy “Dedicated to Man’s Fight against Disease and Pain."

• We have been working on the realization of work style reform since 2014. To promote work style reform on a company-wide scale, we appoint a promotion committee member in each department. The committee members conduct various activities in their respective departments to raise awareness and encourage employees to improve their work efficiency and take paid holidays. Thanks to these efforts, in FY2019, the average monthly overtime hours per employee decreased by 2.3 hours and the paid leave acquisition rate increased by 24.7% compared to FY2014. (The amount raised in donations from ONO SWITCH Project is calculated based on the decrease in overtime payments compared to FY2014.)

The NPOs/NGOs to which donations are made are determined each year based on a questionnaire targeting all employees.
In FY2019, we donated to the following NPOs.

• Activity plan from FY2020

Each Partner’s targets and progress

• CBC measuring device refers to an automated blood cell analyzer or automated blood cell counter which measures red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, etc. in blood.

Past activities

• Results achieved in FY2019 as a result of our support for Japan Heart Children's Medical Center in FY2018

Participation in the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund

We became a member company of the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) in 2018. The GHIT Fund is an international, not-profit organization that invests in the development of new drugs that are less marketable, including drugs for the treatment of malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases, as well as vaccines and diagnostics. Funding is provided by the Japanese government, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Welcome Trust, and Japanese and foreign private companies. In order to reduce the health disparities between developed countries and low- and middle-income countries, the therapeutic agents, vaccines, and diagnostic agents developed through the GHIT Fund’s investments are priced according to the “No Gain, No Loss” principle. We sympathize the initiatives and policy, and we contribute to the funding of the GHIT Fund. Through participation in the GHIT Fund, we will strengthen the establishment of partnerships aiming to improve access to healthcare in low- and middle-income countries.