The current status and value creation of unlisted Biotech Drug Discovery/Development Firms (Biotech DDFs) in Japan: A holistic approach

Biotech Drug Discovery/Development Firms (Biotech DDFs), biotech firms that aim to discover and develop drugs, have recently started playing an important role in creating new drugs alongside traditional pharmaceutical companies. With the intention of proposing a policy that resolves issues concerning the cultivation of Biotech DDFs in Japan, we examined 44 unlisted Biotech DDFs through a comprehensive investigation using public domain information and commercial databases. We then analyzed the patents, and research and development pipelines, which are the key sources of Biotech DDF's enterprise value. The results of profiling and subsequent analysis indicated that most of the clinical compounds by Japanese unlisted Biotech DDFs are currently in a development stage where there is little possibility that they will be approved as pharmaceutical products. The results also showed that the patents of Japanese unlisted Biotech DDFs are heavily dependent on academia. We revealed that the industrial base for Japanese unlisted Biotech DDFs is still weak even though the government's innovation policies have made large financial supports for academia research to build up the biotech industry for one of leading sectors. This result according to our holistic approach suggests that effective measures to strengthen Japanese Biotech DDFs need be proposed.