Working Together
At Otsuka, our dedication to patients, families, and providers drives us to uncover answers to complex, underserved medical needs. We seek to defy limitation and are working to tackle the status quo in the industry and beyond to serve those who need us most. Collaborations are an essential part of this commitment, and we seek to work with companies whose values, commitment, and compassion align with our own.
Our Purpose
Otsuka Business Development - Better health worldwide through external innovation and strategic collaborations.
Why Otsuka?
Otsuka is committed to collaborating with innovators to tackle the unique needs of patients, providers, and caregivers. Our team shares in our collaborator's passion and will take the time and dedicate ourselves to understanding their aspirations and desired outcomes.
Our team
When working together in alliances or as affiliates, our Global Business Development team strives to create a culture of empathy that is rooted in our dedication to the areas of focus. Our business development team brings notable experience within the US and globally allowing us to build relationships founded on expertise and common goals. They provide the tools and leadership to enable each relationship to reach its maximum value and potential, and are committed to:
Otsuka Holdings Business Development
Trust
Develop relationships with collaborators built on trust.
Growth
Realize and maximize the spirit and intent of each unique collaboration.
Action
Use a proven, disciplined approach to ensure that collaborations balance rigor and flexibility to support timely decision-making, early detection and mitigation of risk, and effective conflict resolution.
Our Process
We consistently strive to enhance our capabilities and elevate how we might improve patient health. We seek innovations with organizations that allow us to amplify what we all are working toward. Our process involves three primary steps:
1
We conduct an initial evaluation of any provided non-confidential and public information.
2
A joint team from Otsuka and your organization examines confidential information in more detail.
3
We lead due diligence efforts and negotiations of deal terms.
Let’s explore how we can work together to improve the lives of patients.
What We Are Seeking
In the US, we focus on specific areas with high unmet need where our expertise may allow us to improve health outcomes.
Therapeutic Areas of Interest
Therapeutic Areas of Interest
Alliances
Lundbeck
Many pharmaceutical companies have experienced challenges when ushering in new central nervous system (CNS) treatments. The Otsuka and Lundbeck global alliance agreement was born in 2011 out of this challenge. Both companies have a shared focus on helping patients with mental health disorders. Lundbeck has a long heritage of innovation in neuroscience, and Otsuka has been focusing research and development efforts on CNS for decades. Through this alliance, Otsuka and Lundbeck have taken an unconventional approach to develop and commercialize 5 psychiatric and neurologic therapies worldwide thus far. Together we are creating a positive impact to help improve the lives of people living with CNS disorders.
Click Therapeutics
With Otsuka’s focus on digital innovation and unconventional thinking, our alliance with Click Therapeutics is a natural step toward developing solutions for patients that go beyond medication. We are working on developing and commercializing a prescription digital therapeutic for treating major depressive disorder (MDD). This alliance combines Click Therapeutics’ specialization in discovering, validating, and deploying software applications with Otsuka’s commitment and expertise in researching, developing, and commercializing treatments for mental illness. Together, we are breaking down barriers and have the potential to help transform mental healthcare.
Sunovion
There is a great need for novel medicines in the area of neuropsychiatric medicine development. The global collaboration agreement between Sunovion (together with its parent company Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.) and Otsuka is focused on working on collaborative solutions to address these areas of unmet medical need, and will invest in advancing promising compounds while leveraging their complementary therapeutic area expertise. The goal of these co-development programs is to contribute to changing the course of serious medical conditions and provide new treatment options to patients and healthcare providers globally.
Affiliates
Astex Pharmaceuticals
Our commitment to neuroscience is strengthened by our affiliation with Astex Pharmaceuticals. Astex is a leader in therapeutic discovery and development and is committed to fighting both cancer and CNS disorders. Astex operates two sites, one in the United Kingdom and one in the United States. The United Kingdom serves as headquarters for clinical development and research. The US-based site, located in California, is focused on product development and commercialization. With complementary research and development strengths, there is significantly greater potential to bring forth new therapies in neuroscience and oncology than was previously possible.
Visterra
Otsuka acquired Visterra in 2018 to continue developing solutions for unmet needs in nephrology. Visterra is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is committed to developing innovative antibody-based therapies for patients with kidney diseases and other hard-to-treat conditions. The Visterra pipeline includes programs targeting immunoglobulin A nephropathy and kidney diseases, as well as cancer, chronic pain, and infectious diseases. The extensive overlap in therapeutic focus between our two companies, along with a shared culture of creativity and commitment to patients, enables us to tackle the most difficult treatment challenges.
McQuade Center for Strategic Research & Development (MSRD)
The McQuade Center for Strategic Research and Development (MSRD) is a US limited-liability company that was started to identify and fund innovative early-stage research and development programs. These programs are the building blocks for future Otsuka products. MSRD is named for Robert McQuade, PhD.