Message To Shareholders/Investors
Last year 2023, was a year in which many of our development pipelines made progress.
We have started administering H-1337, our main focus, in the Phase IIb study. We look forward to these results this year and hope to grow it significantly.
In addition, the enhancement of the pipeline progressed steadily with the start of global Phase III studies for K-321, the filing of DW-1002 in China, and the start of development of a combination drug for DW-1002 in the U.S. (in preparation for filing). The enhancement of these late-stage products in development will directly lead to increased earnings in the mid-term, and we intend to continue to focus on this area.
Along with the progress of these development products, royalties on marketed products have been steadily increasing. Currently, sales of DW-1002 (Europe, the United States, etc.) are increasing due to the impact of foreign exchange rates. We are also planning to apply for this product in Japan, so we expect this DW-1002 to become a pillar of our earnings in the future.
We will continue to invest in research and development in 2024.
We have set the management target themes of “expansion of our pipeline” and “expansion of our business fields,” and we aim to achieve these goals. We believe that both of these will contribute to our growth and increase our corporate value, but in particular, we expect to dramatically increase our value by taking on the challenge of entering the later stages of clinical trials if we are successful. Therefore, we would like to obtain results as soon as possible and open the door to the next stage.
In drug discovery research, which are the source of our competitiveness, we will continue to focus on the search for the seeds of future new drugs. Although uncertainty in new drug development remains high, technological innovation is also progressing, and competition continues to intensify. Under such circumstances, we will actively collaborate with other companies with the aim of further demonstrating our technical capabilities in useful basic research and promote our business to deliver valuable new drugs to patients.
The development of new drugs takes much more time and is more difficult than one might imagine, but it is also highly significant to society and is expected to make a significant contribution. The social situation is changing rapidly, and it is sometimes difficult to respond, but we are determined to sincerely meet the expectations of all our stakeholders, including our shareholders and investors.
We will continue to grow based on our founding philosophy of “bringing innovative new medicines from Japan to the world”.
We sincerely appreciate the continued supports of our shareholders and all stakeholders.
President and CEO Yuichi Hidaka