Failed clinical trials may be routine in the pharma world, but one such event has had a broad impact in Japan this week, amplified by recent meteoric rises in the product developer's stock and positive local sentiment around cell-based therapies.
Surprising SanBio/Sumitomo Stroke Stumble Slams Stocks
Mesenchymal stem cell-based therapy's missed Phase IIb endpoint in stroke prompts both an assessment of future development plans and a precipitous fall in developers' stocks.

More from Japan
The latest in a long line of restructuring measures will see Sumitomo Pharma making a stepped sale of its pharma operations in Asia to major Japanese trading house Marubeni.
Kyoto-based venture moves HQ to California to expand R&D and business outreach for its regulatory T-cell technology, as it raises around $46m in public and private funding.
Move to acquire profitable Tokyo-based venture part of Japanese major's strategy of building a broader ecosystem for dementia detection and care.
With two major deals since just the beginning of the year in Japan, private equity groups appear to be ramping up their presence in the country's biopharma sector, amid ongoing activity across the wider APAC region.
More from Focus On Asia
AstraZeneca remains committed to investing in R&D and alliances in China, where Susan Galbraith, the UK major’s head of oncology R&D, sees innovation eventually reaching parity with the US and Europe.
Trump announced a 26% reciprocal tariff on India but a country-agnostic exemption of pharmaceuticals implies that the interests of Indian firms and the US consumer are protected for now. What is Indian pharma’s business exposure and what is domestic industry saying?
After a more than three-year hiatus, China's Hengrui has signalled its return to multiregional Phase III trials as it looks to globalize its innovative pipeline. Meanwhile, a number of other Chinese players have announced plans to kick off Phase III trials this year and beyond.