Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Pharmaceuticals
June 1, 2017

Otsuka to Continue Commitment to Support the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund)

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Otsuka) announces its intention to continue as an associate partner of the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) through the year 2022.

The GHIT Fund invests in projects to discover and develop medicines, vaccines and diagnostics that combat potentially deadly communicable diseases including HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases. It is the world's first global health-focused product development fund based on public-private collaboration, involving the Japanese government, private companies, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation *1, the Wellcome Trust *2 and the United Nations Development Programme.

Under our philosophy of, "Otsuka-people creating new products for better health worldwide", Otsuka has been engaged in the research and development of tuberculosis treatments for over 30 years. In 2016, to contribute further to important issues of public health, we joined the GHIT Fund as an associate partner.
Tatsuo Higuchi, Otsuka president and representative director, noted, "Our multi-decade commitment to develop new treatments for tuberculosis resulted in the creation of delamanid, one of the first new agents to treat multidrug-resistant, pulmonary tuberculosis in almost half a century. Our partnership with the GHIT Fund enables us to further contribute to new product development for the health of people across the world."

Otsuka is committed to continuing its contribution to fulfilling unmet medical needs worldwide.

Find out more about GHIT Fund at https://www.ghitfund.org/about/mediacenter/presslist/en

  1. 1The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people-especially those with the fewest resources-have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life.
  2. 2The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to improving health. They support bright minds in science, the humanities and the social sciences, as well as education, public engagement and the application of research to medicine.