Fujifi lm has decided to create cancer treatment drugs jointly with Texas-based MD Anderson Cancer Center, one of the world’s leading comprehensive cancer hospitals. The plan calls for clinical trials to start from next year for three types of drug candidates, including treatment for lung cancer. Fujifilm hopes to launch the drugs in Japan, the United States and Europe as early as 2018.
MD Anderson Cancer Center, which is part of the University of Texas system, has 20,000 employees, including doctors. Some 10,000 patients participate in clinical trials every year—more than 10 times the number at Japan’s National Cancer Center allowing it to sign up almost all clinical trial volunteers on its own.
Fujifilm aims to bring the drugs to market about four years aft er the start of clinical trials, compared to the six years or longer usually needed for cancer drugs. MD Anderson became interested in the drug candidates, which were discovered using Fujifilm’s proprietary technology.
