is a Japanese multinational

pharmaceutical company The pharmaceutical industry is a Medicine, medical industry that discovers, develops, produces, and markets pharmaceutical goods such as medications and medical devices. Medications are then administered to (or Self-medicate, self-administered b ...

. The company is focused on oncology, psychiatry, neurology, women's health issues, urological diseases among other areas. Its headquarters are located in Chuo-ku,

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

History

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. It was set up as a wholly privately owned company funded by individuals from Tokyo and Osaka, with the government lending it land and buildings. Technical expertise for the enterprise was provided by Shibata Shokei and Nagai Nagayoshi. The company started its operation in the same year 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 (or the typographically obsolete rendering, ''pharmacopœia''), meaning "drug-making", in its modern technical sense, is a reference work containing directions for the identification of compound med ...

. Among them was

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

, an anti-

asthma Asthma is a common 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 wh ...

drug invented by Nagai. In 1893, however, Nagai left the company and the business started to record operating losses. In 1898 it was acquired by Osaka Seiyaku. The company produced

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

under the brand name Philopon during WWII for the Imperial Japanese military. Years later, Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals was incorporated separately 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 ...

. Dainippon and Sumitomo merged on October 1, 2005, to create Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma. As a result, Sumitomo Chemical has maintained a 51%+ ownership in the company since. On April 1, 2022, the company was renamed from Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma to Sumitomo Pharma.

Acquisitions and Consolidations

Operating without a sales foothold in North America, then-Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma acquired NASDAQ-traded Sepracor for $2.6B in 2010, renaming its new stand-alone subsidiary

Sunovion On July 1, 2023, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. became part of Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering therapeutic and scientific breakthroughs in areas of critical patient need spanning psychiatry and neu ...

.Company press release
/ref> Under Sunovion management, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma was able to successfully market its $2B blockbuster drug Latuda in North America, an

atypical antipsychotic The atypical antipsychotics (AAP), also known as second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) and serotonin–dopamine antagonists (SDAs), are a group of antipsychotic drugs (antipsychotic drugs in general are also known as tranquilizers and neurol ...

approved for the treatment of

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

and depressive episodes associated with

Bipolar I disorder Bipolar I disorder (BD-I; pronounced "type one bipolar disorder") is a type of bipolar spectrum disorder characterized by the occurrence of at least one manic episode, with or without mixed or psychotic features. Most people also, at other ti ...

. In addition to Latuda,

achieved other notable commercial achievements with marketed drugs such as Lunesta, Aptiom, and Brovana. In September 2016, the

subsidiary announced it would acquire Cynapsus Therapeutics 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 Kynmobi, 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 antago ...

. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma announced a $3B upfront acquisition in September 2019 of five Roivant subsidiaries, including Urovant and Enzyvant. In October 2022, Sumitomo Pharma announced the acquisition of all outstanding shares in Myovant, a former Roivant subsidiary it was previously a majority owner of, valuing the company at $2.9B. Following the Myovant acquisition in April 2023, Sumitomo Pharma consolidated its US subsidiaries to form Sumitomo Pharma America (SMPA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering therapeutic and scientific breakthroughs in areas of critical patient needs spanning psychiatry and neurology, oncology, urology, women's health, rare disease, and cell and gene therapies.

List of mergers and acquisitions

The following is an illustration of the company's major mergers and acquisitions and historical predecessors: *Sumitomo Pharma (Previously-known as Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma) **Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. (Reorganised 2023) ***

(Acq 2010) **** IBF Biotechnics (Acq 1991) **** New England Pharmaceuticals (Acq 1995) **** Oryx Pharmaceuticals (Acq 2008) **** Elevation Pharmaceuticals (Acq 2012) **** Cynapsus Therapeutics (Acq 2016) ***Sumitomo Pharma America Holdings ***Sumitomo Pharma Oncology ***Sumitovant Biopharma ****Myovant Sciences (Acq 2019) ****Urovant Sciences (Acq 2019) ****Enzyvant Therapeutics (Acq 2019) ****Altavant Sciences (Acq 2019) ***Spirovant Sciences (Acq 2019) ** Boston Biomedical (Acq 2012) ** Tolero Pharmaceuticals (Acq 2016)

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 Companies in the Nikkei 225 Pharmaceutical companies established in 1885 Japanese companies established in 1885 Veterinary medicine companies Sumitomo Group