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Pharma Power Japan Barely In COVID Vaccines Race. Why?

Long-Standing Lag In New Spotlight

 
• By Ian Haydock

Despite having multiple world-class pharma companies and innovative research, Japan is notably absent as a source of candidate vaccines for the coronavirus. The pandemic is again throwing into sharp relief past and present challenges around the country's vaccines sector.

vaccine race
Japan Lags As COVID Vaccines Move To Market • Source: Shutterstock

Japan has one of the largest single-country pharma markets in the world, a handful of major R&D-based companies with multiple innovative drugs sold around the globe, and a record of innovation that stretches back decades and includes multiple blockbusters.

So why, as the first approvals for other developers start to come through globally, is the country barely moving the needle when

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