Otsuka’s drug discovery research began in 1971 with only 14 scientists who had the idea of addressing the world’s unmet medical needs by investing in therapeutic areas that were underserved by other pharmaceutical companies. In Australia, we focus on two therapeutic areas:

• CNS Disorders
• Nephrology

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS) DISORDERS

Otsuka’s commitment to providing innovative solutions for central nervous system (CNS) disorders began more than 30 years ago when our researchers took the first steps in the creation of a drug that would eventually provide a new treatment option for people living with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Today, we are also focusing our energy on other important areas that include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ADHD, autism, and major depressive disorder (MDD).

Otsuka is working in a long-term alliance with Lundbeck, a Danish pharmaceutical company that also has extensive experience in developing drugs for mental health disorders. While creating new products, we put emphasis on creating robust evidence to show that any new drugs offer an improvement on others and are beneficial to improving patient outcomes.

Otsuka strives to be innovative when it comes to educating the stakeholders in the management of mental health disorders. We like to use the phrase ‘beyond the pill’, meaning that we see medication as being just one part of the total care package that we offer to help people cope with the debilitating effects of mental health disorders.

NEPHROLOGY

Otsuka has always had a philosophy of developing and delivering drugs for diseases where there is an unmet medical need. In Nephrology (the medical speciality that concentrates on kidneys), that philosophy is particularly apt. Our main focus in this area is autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), an inherited disease in which fluid-filled cysts grow in the kidneys, impairing kidney function and often eventually resulting in kidney failure. Otsuka developed the first disease modifying medication for ADPKD. For more information on ADPKD, visit our Patient Support section.

Otsuka is also developing new treatments for renal anaemia, in partnership with biopharmaceutical company Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. In chronic kidney disease (CKD), the progressive loss of kidney function leads to the kidneys being less able to produce erythropoietin (a hormone that helps stimulate the production of red blood cells in response to lower oxygen levels), and this results in anaemia. In CKD, anaemia is associated with increased risks of mortality and cardiac complications, and decreased quality of life.

Otsuka is committed to delivering new treatments through extensive research and development in a number of therapeutic areas.