is a

pharmaceutical company The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients (or self-administered), with the aim to cure them, vaccinate them, or alleviate sympto ...

based in Japan. Its headquarters are in Chuo-ku,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. The original Dainippon Pharmaceuticals (Dainippon Seiyaku) was established in 1885 by

Nagayo Sensai Baron was a medical doctor, educator and statesman in Meiji period Japan. Biography Nagayo was born to a family of traditional physicians in Ōmura Domain, Hizen Province (present day Ōmura Nagasaki Prefecture). After studies at the Gokōka ...

, a graduate of Tekijuku – the first private medical school in Japan established by

Ogata Kōan was a Japanese physician and rangaku scholar in late Edo period Japan, noted for establishing an academy which later developed into Osaka University. Many of his students subsequently played important roles in the Meiji Restoration and the weste ...

. It was set up as a wholly privately-owned company funded by individuals from Tokyo and Osaka, with the land and buildings lent by the government. Technical expertise for the enterprise was provided by Shibata Shokei and

Nagai Nagayoshi was a Japanese pharmacist, best known for his study of ephedrine. Early life Nagai was born in Myōdō District, Awa Province in what is now Tokushima Prefecture, as the son of a doctor and started studying ''rangaku'' medicine at the Dutch ...

. The company started its operation in 1885 with equipment imported from Germany. The main products were

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

and other similar drugs listed in the Japanese

Pharmacopoeia A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea (from the obsolete typography ''pharmacopœia'', meaning "drug-making"), in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of compound medicines, and published by ...

. Among them was

ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in ...

, an anti-

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

drug invented by Nagai. In 1893, however, Nagai left the company and the business started to post operating losses. In 1898 it was acquired by Osaka Seiyaku (Osaka Pharmaceutical). Another origin of the company began as Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals, incorporated in 1984 as a subsidiary of

Sumitomo Chemical is a major Japanese chemical company. The company is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the on the Nikkei 225 stock index. It's a member of the Sumitomo group and was founded in 1913 as a fertilize ...

(holding 77.8% of the share as of 2006). Dainippon and Sumitomo merged on October 1, 2005, to create Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma. As a result, Sumitomo Chemical has 50.2% ownership in Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma as of March 31, 2014.

On April 1, 2022, the company was renamed from Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma to Sumitomo Pharma.

Notable Acquistions

Sunovion Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (former NASDAQ: ''SEPR''), known until October 12, 2010 as Sepracor, Inc. prior to its acquisition by Sumitomo Pharma of Japan, is a pharmaceutical company founded in 1984 by Timothy J. Barberich, Steve Matson, and ...

(formerly Sepracor Inc.), was acquired by then-Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma in 2010 for $2.6B.Company press release
/ref> Sunovion remains a subsidiary of Sumitomo Pharma, with its headquarters in

Marlborough, Massachusetts Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 41,793 at the 2020 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the ...

, USA. In September 2016, the Sunovion subsidiary announced it would acquire

Cynapsus Therapeutics Cynapsus Therapeutics Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing a drug to treat the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formerly named Cannasat Therapeutics they changed their name to Cynapsus The ...

for approximately $624 million, to expand Sunovion's central nervous system drug portfolio. With the deal, Sunovion would acquire Cynapsus’ then-Phase III Parkinson's disease candidate drug APL-130277, a sublingual formulation of

apomorphine Apomorphine, sold under the brand name Apokyn among others, is a type of aporphine having activity as a non- selective dopamine agonist which activates both D2-like and, to a much lesser extent, D1-like receptors. It also acts as an antagon ...

. In September 2019, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma announced a $3B upfront acquisition of five

Roivant Sciences Roivant Sciences is a healthcare company focused on applying technology to drug development. Roivant builds subsidiary biotech and healthcare technology companies. History Vivek Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences in 2014. Focused on aligning in ...

subsidiaries, including Urovant and EnzyvantRoivant press release
/ref> In October 2022, Sumitomo Pharma announced the acquisition of all outstanding shares in Myovant, a former

subsidiary it was previously a majority owner of, valuing the company at $2.9B.Myovant press release
/ref>

References

External links

Sumitomo Pharma

Sumitomo Pharma

(Archive) * Wiki collection of bibliographic works on Sumitomo Pharma {{Authority control Pharmaceutical companies of Japan Companies based in Osaka Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical companies established in 1885 Japanese companies established in 1885 Veterinary medicine companies Sumitomo Group