Osaka, as a center of the health care and preventive medicine industries.
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Osaka, the hub of the health and preventive medical industries
Osaka City has a heavy concentration of pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturers with advanced bio-research capabilities, along with the manufacturers of chemicals and equipment that support the medical and other industries. The Kansai region also has several distinctive R&D locations such as "Saito" in the northern part of Osaka Prefecture and the Kobe Medical Industry Development Project underway in Kobe. Ideally located at the center of Kansai, Osaka brings with it a support system facilitated by an industry-university-government network, and is thus well equipped to be a hub of creative industrial activities in terms of business development, marketing, and R&D.
R&D centers for the health and preventive medical industries
Osaka City and vicinity
Osaka City University
Osaka Municipal Technical Research Institute
Osaka City Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences
Osaka Prefectural Health Science Center
Many large pharmaceutical companies, food manufacturers, and other companies engaged in health and preventive medical services
Osaka boasts an ideal environment for business development, marketing, R&D and other industrial creation activities
Major research institutes located in Osaka include Osaka City University, the Osaka City Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, and the Osaka Municipal Technical Research Institute. Osaka City University opened the Health and Preventive Medicine Laboratory to carry out 8 joint research projects in conjunction with industry. The university is particularly promoting development of a system for assessing the effects of health foods on human bodies through an innovative research project entitled "Basis for Overcoming Fatigue," which was selected as one of the 21st Century Center of Excellence (COE) programs by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The Osaka City Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, on the other hand, is offering support for the testing of specified health foods and the coordination of approval procedures, while the Osaka Municipal Technical Research Institute provides technical guidance backed by its proven record in biochemistry and organic chemistry research.
Osaka City University
Output value of pharmaceutical products by prefecture
The high number of headquarters of manufacturers dealing in health foods and related businesses means that advanced product development functions are available
Kansai is home to the headquarters of several major food manufacturers with health food business units, including Ezaki Glico, Suntory, and House Foods, and also large pharmaceutical companies with health food business units, such as Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, as well as other companies that have been engaged in the health food business for many years. Kansai also has a concentration of headquarters of manufacturers with traditional health products and proprietary pharmaceutical technologies, including Kaigen, Morishita Jintan, and Fuji Oil. Such a rich concentration of manufacturers has naturally made Kansai a center of the health food industry.
Promotion of Health and Preventive Medicine Industry
Efforts to build an industry-university-government network are underway to scientifically assess the effects of health foods and develop consumer-oriented products. This fosters partnerships between academic and test institutes, such as the Research Center for Industrial Innovation of Osaka City University, the Osaka City Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences and the Osaka Municipal Technical Research Institute. Industrial promotion projects are now being pursued to increase market size, capitalizing on management support from the Business Innovation Center, Osaka. Thus, Osaka is being developed as a center of the health care and preventive medicine industries.
Industry-University-Government Network in "Health and Preventive Medicine"
Osaka's major undertakings
Research Center for Industrial Innovation in Osaka City University
Center for Drug & Food Clinical Evaluation
Health and Preventive Medicine Laboratory Osaka City University
The Health and Preventive Medicine Laboratory opened as a department of the Research Center for Industrial Innovation at Osaka City University in the university's Abeno campus, where the medical school is located. This facility focuses on R&D of health and functional foods and medical equipment. The Center for Drug & Food Clinical Evaluation, on the other hand, is responsible for conducting clinical trials of pharmaceutical products in a more comprehensive manner than is conventionally done, while it has recently started to evaluate the efficacy of functional foods, especially specified health foods. The medical school of Osaka City University, together with the Osaka City Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, an organization engaged in testing of specified health foods for approval, constitutes a research hub, allying with healthcare and preventive medicine businesses throughout western Japan.
Creation of "Anti-Fatigue" and "Healing" businesses
Osaka City supports the creation of "Anti-Fatigue" and "Healing" businesses as part of its efforts to encourage the development of the healthcare industry. Specifically, Osaka City is promoting the collaboration between Osaka City University and University College London, to apply research results from this collaboration to a wide range of industries, including foods, daily commodities, pharmaceuticals, housing equipment, and home electronics, thus facilitating the development of new businesses. The City also works to enhance its ability to provide information by organizing academic symposiums on related themes.
