Japan

Cellafa Bioscience, an Astellas-Yaskawa joint venture, uses Maholo robotic automation and AI to standardize cell therapy manufacturing, targeting GMP compliance within two years and global expansion.

Launched in April 2025, Astellas’s Innovation Lab unites fragmented research units under Morten Sogaard to pursue focused indications, a dual-track R&D strategy and tailored partnerships that balance innovation, risk and collaboration.

The Japanese pharma specialist has embarked on an ambitious journey to become a global specialty pharmaceutical company, driven by its first non-Japanese president at the helm.

Sawai’s settlement brings an end to a years-long legal battle over the manufacturing method for the firm’s generic teriparatide injection, following a court ruling that upheld Asahi Kasei’s process patent for its osteoporosis brand Teribone.

At recent conferences in Seoul, participants discussed various hurdles for growth in the Korean biotech ecosystem and potential opportunities such as the ongoing collaborations between Korea and Japan.

Alfresa Holdings, Kidswell Bio, Chiome Bioscience, and Taiwan’s Mycenax have formed a two-track alliance to accelerate Japan’s shift to domestically produced biosimilars.

Japan’s Itochu and Mochida Pharmaceutical have each acquired a 20% stake in local generics firm AND Pharma, pledging to help secure the Japanese supply chain and develop fresh distribution channels.

Alvotech has welcomed a trio of Japanese biosimilar approvals, set to be sold via its local commercial partner Fuji Pharma, though the firm remained tight-lipped about future potential launch dates.

Takeda's APAC chief talks about driving affordability and access for products like Adcetris and Qdenga, focusing on the region's diverse needs. “Watch this space” he said on the Japanese group’s Innovation Capability Centers, as they shape digital solutions to transform operations.

Japanese generics firms Sawai and Nichi-Iko are throwing in their lot for certain products in order to improve productivity, increase production capacity, and build a system for stable supply of generic drugs.

An executive order has given the go-ahead for US tariffs on Japan to be amended to “zero percent” for generics, just weeks after the EU revealed an effective exemption from its own US tariffs. Meanwhile, a separate order suggests that generics could enjoy broader global exemptions from tariffs.

The latest report also demonstrates the EU’s trade relationships around the world, including with the US.