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- Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC) was established in October 2007 through the merger of Tanabe Seiyaku Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation. Since this merger, rather than pursuing economies of scale our focus has been on seeking to take advantage of the two former companies' drug discovery technologies.
This approach allows us to do our utmost to develop new pharmaceuticals that will assist in the earliest possible treatment of ailments from which patients suffer. MTPC seeks to continue doing its best for patients. This has always been the starting point of our business.
MTPC intends to maximize the expanded management resources made available through its merger to contribute to the health of people throughout the world by creating and supplying superior pharmaceuticals. The company has designated the metabolic and circulatory systems as priority R&D fields. Within these domains, we are placing the highest priority and concentrating management resources on diabetes and stroke patients. In diabetes, our research includes metabolic risks and complications arising from obesity and lipid disorder. We are studying strokes over the period from acute onset to recovery and maintenance, as we aim to create pharmaceuticals from the viewpoint of total care, from prevention to post-onset care.
MTPC provides blood plasma derivatives, which are essential pharmaceuticals in clinical situations, as well as vaccines for disease prevention and various drugs with specific characteristics, such as mental and nervous system treatments and medical narcotics. We are developing the OTC pharmaceutical business, which helps provide safe medications. We also are making a full-fledged effort to enter the business of generic pharmaceuticals under the "reliable generics" concept. By extending and enhancing our operations in these ways, we aim to raise our level of contribution to medical care in Japan.
To promote the appropriate use of pharmaceuticals, MTPC has established a Drug Consultation Center to communicate directly with patients; hospitals, dispensaries, insurance pharmacies and other medical institutions; as well as drugstores and distributors. This center provides information on various products, including data on the safety and efficacy of non-prescription drugs and quasi-drugs. Its aim is to present accurate and easy-to-understand product information quickly and courteously. The center incorporates feedback that enables us to develop better products and provide information more appropriately.
[ Flow of Communications with Drug Consultation Centers ]
Courses for the General Public
We collaborated with a course sponsored by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc., providing a variety of material to help educate members of the general public about disease and prevention.
Crohn Frontier Website
Ruimachi21.info
MTPC has established this website to provide people suffering from Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, strokes, sleep disorders, hemorrhoids and other complaints with information about symptoms, diagnoses and treatments. Specialists supervise information that is included on the website.
To ensure that medical institutions and patients use pharmaceuticals with complete peace of mind, MTPC has created high-quality drug production and supply systems spanning the stages from raw material procurement through to production and distribution.
At the procurement stage, we perform acceptance testing on raw materials procured from Japan and overseas. At the production stage, we test manufactured drug substances and products and perform spot checks in accordance with pharmaceutical production management and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). We integrate the results of research conducted by our Chemistry Manufacturing and Control (CMC) Research Center into each manufacturing process, from drug substances to tablets and injections.
At the distribution and transportation stage, we maintain careful control over warehouse temperatures and cleanliness. Our warehouse management systems allow product and shipping management by product type and lot number.
[ Pharmaceutical Reliability Assurance System ]
Plasma derivatives and blood transfusion products are pharmaceuticals made from the blood of well-intentioned donations. Plasma derivatives, which contain various proteins purified from liquid components separated from blood, come in various types1. These are indispensable pharmaceuticals for patients because each has a vital function that cannot be substituted by other substances.
However, products manufactured from human blood have the potential to transmit viruses, and the risk of infectious disease cannot be eliminated completely. Therefore, careful consideration of safety is required when manufacturing, supplying and using such products.
Upon reflection of the health damage caused by the introduction of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) through its plasma derivatives in the past, MTPC established the Benesis Corporation in October 2002 to ensure the stable supply of safer plasma derivatives.
In accordance with the Act on Securing a Stable Supply of Safe Blood Products (Blood Law) enacted in 2003, Benesis strives to fulfill its mission as a licensed marketer providing a "stable and appropriate supply of safe blood products, developing technology, and collecting and providing information to improve safety" in strict compliance with the Blood Law.
One of these initiatives involves the quality risk management system that Benesis employs to centrally manage quality risks related to its products. This system evaluates quality-related risks on an ongoing basis at a variety of stages, from research and development through to sales, and promotes various countermeasures to reduce these risks.
Furthermore, Benesis retains MRs specializing in plasma derivatives to promptly provide medical institutions and patients with the appropriate information.
In addition, MTPC has established the Quality and Safety Coordination Council to strengthen its communications with Benesis. This channel serves as a backup to ensure that safety is the top operational priority.
MTPC and Benesis maintain more stringent standards for plasma derivatives than are required for typical pharmaceuticals under the Blood Law and the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. In the future, we aim to raise this level of safety even further. In addition, we are working to research and develop new plasma derivatives, as we seek to make further improvements to patients' quality of life.
1 Albumin products are used when the patient has suffered trauma including burns or shock. Immunoglobulin products are utilized when the patient's immune function has declined, for the prevention and treatment of serious infectious diseases, the treatment of acute phase Kawasaki disease and autoimmune disorders. Blood coagulation factor products are indispensable for the treatment of blood coagulation abnormalities and for sustaining life
