Chugai 100th Anniversary: A century of innovation to benefit patients

In the 1920s, many countries around the world - including Japan - were undergoing significant change.

Inventions like the automobile and telephone, previously considered rare marvels of technology, were becoming commonplace. Artists in Europe and America were influenced by Japanese design.

On 1 September 1923, the Great Kanto earthquake struck Japan, destroying communities and causing severe medicine shortages. This tragedy inspired Juzo Ueno to create medicines that benefit the world, and he established Chugai on 10 March 1925.

The development of a tuberculosis drug in the 1930s, a time when the disease was widespread in Japan, became the company's first commercial success, followed by the launch of several other products. A few decades later, the company shifted its focus from over-the-counter drugs to developing its own prescription medicines and to biotechnological research.

For over 20 years, Chugai  has been and continues to be an invaluable part of the Roche Group. 

Chugai successfully created the first therapeutic antibody originating in Japan and has established a consolidated drug discovery platform that utilises its own innovative antibody engineering technologies. These proprietary technologies allowed Chugai to take a technology-driven approach and Chugai has emerged as one of the pioneers in developing mid-size molecule drugs that could lead to effective treatments for diseases that have been untreatable with small molecules or antibodies. 

The strategic alliance between our companies is a one–of-a-kind success story in the healthcare industry that has enabled millions of patients in Japan to benefit from Roche’s medicines, while Chugai’s innovative products could reach patients worldwide.

Chugai aims to double its R&D output and launch in-house developed products every year, and be a top innovator for advanced and sustainable patient-centric healthcare in 2030. The company has developed next-generation antibody engineering technologies and aims to expand these technological platforms as well as establish new ones such as mid-size molecules to bring new drug discovery ideas to realisation. They also aim to reduce the time and cost of the drug discovery process and improve its R&D success rates using digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. This includes their AI-based antibody discovery technology -- with a new antibody already in development -- and working with partners to innovate clinical development processes and accelerate new drug development through generative AI. 

In addition, Chugai will pursue in-house innovations from their new drug discovery centre,which began full operations in April 2023. At the same time, they will accelerate external innovation opportunities by strengthening collaborations with cutting-edge companies, such as via their

Chugai may be 100 years old, but the founding spirit of “creating drugs that benefit the world” has remained at the heart of Chugai's mission. As they celebrate their centenary and look forward to the next 100 years, Dr. Osamu Okuda, President and CEO of Chugai, is committed to pursuing innovation for patients around the world.

In Japanese, "Chu" means "Inside" and "gai" means "Outside". The company name embodies the dream of delivering innovative drugs from Japan to the world.

Visit Chugai's special 100th anniversaryto learn more about them.