Japan ranks far behind other countries in clinical trials for new drugs, according to a survey conducted by the Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Research. Japan ranked 24th worldwide in the number of international joint clinical trials necessary to approve new drugs.
Consequently Japan has a "drug lag." Approval of drugs takes much longer than in many other countries.
The survey found that between 2008 and 2012, Japan conducted fewer joint clinical trials than almost every other developed country.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.