Biogen, Eisai to shift some Alzheimer's drug production to US
TOKYO -- Japan's Eisai and American partner Biogen will transfer some production of active ingredients for their Alzheimer's disease treatment lecanemab to the U.S. amid concerns that President Donald Trump will slap tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
Lecanemab was approved in the U.S. in 2023 as the world's first drug to slow the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's. The treatment also has received approval in Japan, China, Europe and elsewhere, with its use spreading gradually.
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SoraNews24
2 days ago
- SoraNews24
'Matcha crisis' emerges as the world falls in love with powdered green tea
A matcha crisis isn't fun and games like Time Crisis. It's hard and grueling like Dino Crisis . Once the hidden gem of Japanese tea ceremonies and confectionery, the carefully ground green tea known as 'matcha' has taken the world by storm with its vibrant green color, complex taste that seems to complement sweetness perfectly, and health benefits. But now, those in the industry are starting to wonder if the ingredient can handle getting this big. ▼ I'm just going to keep telling myself this is healthy because it has matcha in it. In order to achieve the best color and flavor in matcha, the plants' exposure to sunlight needs to be carefully regulated. This means the very best matcha you're likely to find is grown on a small scale with a high degree of personal attention. Even with attempts to modernize and industrialize production, there are still limitations because certain processes like growing the plants and grinding the leaves need to be done very slowly in order to be done properly. Since production can't be sped up, it would have to be expanded in order to produce more, and seeing the potential for matcha exports, the government began subsidizing green tea production a couple years ago in the hopes of focusing Japan's shrinking agricultural labor force on the coveted ingredient. Meanwhile, China stepped into the game too a while back and is currently the leading producer of matcha in the world. However, much of that is sold in their own gigantic domestic market and since they focus more on efficiency in production, it could be said that the quality is lower. ▼ These green tea plants in Saitama Prefecture are being grown in full sunlight, which means they cannot be used for matcha. The recent trade chaos caused by U.S. President Donald Trump may give Japan a competitive edge against China as Japan is expected to get a more lenient deal in the very sizable American market. Unfortunately, that probably won't make a difference, because even despite Japan's efforts at more than doubling matcha production in the past 10 years, that still won't be enough to meet the increasingly ravenous worldwide demand for the stuff. According to a tea buyer in the U.K., sales of matcha-flavored drinks have tripled in the past year alone and have even surpassed that of the classic Earl Grey there. Some in other countries like the U.S. said they have completely given up coffee in favor of matcha. A vendor in Ireland remarked that Japan will probably need to increase its production by 10 times in the next five years in order to keep up. Considering the fact that farmers of all kinds are literally a dying breed in Japan, a 10-fold increase seems unlikely unless a radical solution can be found. Many in the industry are saying we're already in the midst of what they call a 'matcha crisis' with it being hard to secure, and if both supply and demand continue on their current course we may end up in a full-blown matcha supply shock. ▼ A news report on the matcha crisis… I feel bad for those girls who probably had no idea they would appear on Japanese TV with 'MATCHA CRISIS' underneath. This could cause prices to spike hard and throw the future of matcha as we know it into turmoil. With the demand being what it is, it would seem likely that buyers in other countries would turn to more quickly produced and inferior matcha both from Japan and China, lowering the bar for a drink and ingredient once only made with an extremely high degree of craftsmanship. Many online comments in Japan felt that rising prices would preemptively help protect the integrity of Japan's more finely produced matcha and put it on the level of a high-class ingredient that it deserves. 'Japan has been selling it too cheaply. It should be marketed as a high-end product because it is.' 'This could just be a fad too, like bubble tea or tiramisu. Increasing production for now is fine, but you need to be prepared for after.' 'I don't think matcha is a passing fad because it can be used in so many ways.' 'Why don't they sell it for more?' 'This global demand probably doesn't know what good matcha tastes like, so the market will be flooded with poor-quality stuff.' 'Raise prices and make more of it so we can get some money over here.' 'Alright, who told everyone that matcha is delicious?' 'Looks like taking matcha snacks as a present for my trip to Europe was the right choice.' 'I work at a store in a tourist-heavy area and everyone is buying matcha stuff.' 'The matcha used in the tea ceremony is very carefully made. I hope this wave of commercialism doesn't affect that.' Indeed, matcha might've done well to follow the sake model in which it is marketed as a luxury drink and tends to sell for a premium overseas due to the high degree of technique that often goes into making it. But in the end, it will probably splinter off into something like chocolate where you'll have a more clear-cut range of co-existing options from the exquisitely crafted and highly expensive kinds to the stuff they use to mass produce KitKats. Source: TV Asahi News, The Guardian, Kyodo, YouTube/ANNnewsCH Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
2 days ago
Japan Starts Final-Stage Trial for iPS Drug for Alzheimer's
News from Japan Science Technology Jun 3, 2025 22:14 (JST) Kyoto, June 3 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese team said Tuesday that it has started a final-stage clinical trial to administer to patients with familial Alzheimer's disease a drug discovered through induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells. This is the first final-stage trial conducted in the field of iPS drug discovery, which uses iPS cells to discover new efficacies of new and existing drugs, according to the team. The team includes members of Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, or CiRA, and Towa Pharmaceutical Co., which makes and sells generic drugs. Through the trial, which began in May, the team aims to confirm the safety and efficacy of the treatment, in hopes of obtaining regulatory approval. In 2017, CiRA professor Haruhisa Inoue and others carried out an investigation to find a compound that reduces amyloid beta, which causes Alzheimer's disease, by using iPS cells. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
The Mainichi
2 days ago
- The Mainichi
Final phase of trial for Parkinson's drug to treat Alzheimer's begins in Japan
KYOTO (Kyodo) -- The final phase of a clinical trial aiming to treat familial Alzheimer's disease using existing medication for Parkinson's disease has been in progress since May, a Japanese research institute involved in the project said Tuesday. Led by drugmaker Towa Pharmaceutical Co. and Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, the project utilizes induced pluripotent stem cells to identify effective treatments, known as "iPS drug discovery." The clinical trial being conducted until March 2028 using bromocriptine, a drug used to treat Parkinson's, at several medical institutions including Mie University Hospital aims to enroll 24 patients suffering from familial Alzheimer's disease who carry mutations of a specific gene, with half of them receiving a placebo. Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory and other cognitive abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Medicine can temporarily slow progress of the symptoms but at present there is no treatment to completely cure the disease. Familial Alzheimer's disease, also known as early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease, is a rare form of the condition generally affecting individuals below the age of 60.
