Daiichi Sankyo

Yesterday, July 15, was the ”Marine Day” public holiday in Japan, which is dedicated to showing appreciation and gratitude for the ocean. Marine Day officially became a public holiday in 1996, and since 2003, always falls on the third Monday in July. Before 1996, Marine Day was known as “Marine Memorial Day,” which was similarly established in the mid-20th century to express the country’s gratitude for the ocean, as well as to recognize the ocean’s importance to Japan as an island nation surrounded by water. As a relatively new public holiday, there aren’t any specific, traditional ways of celebrating it that are deeply rooted in Japanese culture. However, on Marine Day, especially due to its timing, when the rainy season has or is lifting in many parts of Japan and the real heat of summer is coming on, many people celebrate the holiday by going to a beach or a pool. Although it's important and healthy for us to get a moderate amount of sunlight, at the same time, the ultraviolet rays contained in sunlight can damage our skin and eyes. Whether it be on Marine Day or any other day, if you are going to spend a long time at the beach or outdoors, please take care to protect yourself from potentially damaging UV rays by wearing sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, protective clothing, and so on! Passion for Innovation. Compassion for Patients.®

It goes without saying that regular health checkups lead to early detection of illness. However, since July 12th is "Ningen Dock Day” in Japan, which promotes awareness around the importance of receiving regular health checks, and as a company committed to improving quality of life around the world, we’d like to use this post to remind everyone anyway. 😊 “Ningen” means "person" in Japanese, and the “dock” part literally comes from the English word, dock, meaning a workshop for inspecting and repairing ships. Just like ships, which require regular inspections and repairs to maintain peak seaworthiness, it’s also important for people to regularly check our health! Ningen Dock Day in Japan was established on July 12, 1954, because the first organized health checkup in the country was carried out at the National Tokyo Daiichi Hospital (National Center for Global Health and Medicine) on that date. Health checkups are useful for prevention and early detection of a wide range of illnesses, some of which don’t show symptoms until the illness is already progressing. Why not use Ningen Dock Day as a reminder for you to schedule this year’s health checkup? #ningendockday #regularhealthchecks Passion for Innovation. Compassion for Patients.®

Congratulations to our colleagues at Daiichi Sankyo Europe GmbH for this very well-deserved honor in recognition of many years of hard work invested in making Daiichi Sankyo in Europe a great place to work.

In the early years of the 20th century, Sankyo Shoten, which later became Daiichi Sankyo predecessor company Sankyo Co., Ltd., was finding success with products such as Taka-Diastase, a gastrointestinal drug developed by Dr. Jokichi Takamine, and adrenalin in addition to being the sole Japanese distributor for Parke-Davis (now Pfizer). As the company outgrew its first manufacturing plant, Sankyo Shoten founder, Matasaku Shiobara, began looking for a new, larger site that could support the growing company. He found it in 1908 on the site of a former government-owned glass factory in Shinagawa, Tokyo. More than 115 years later, the Shinagawa site still remains part of Daiichi Sankyo as the location of the company’s primary R&D center, where researchers are engaged in the research and development of innovative medicines to meet diverse medical needs of patients around the world. Click to learn more about the history of the Shinagawa Plant. Passion for Innovation. Compassion for Patients.®

“My family’s sacrifices allowed me to live a more fulfilling life, personally and professionally, and that never gets lost on me.” Dalal Nesheiwat, PharmD, Vice President, Global Head of Clinical Science at Daiichi Sankyo US, reflects on the profound impact her family had on her life and journey to the head of the new clinical science function at Daiichi Sankyo and how she works to inspire the next generation. Click to learn more about Dalal’s dedication to improving patient lives globally. Passion for Innovation. Compassion for Patients.®

Each heart represents a sense of mutual respect. July 1 marked the beginning of a new month, but June was Pride Month, a time to deepen understanding of LGBTQ+ people and raise awareness of their rights. This year, a mosaic rainbow heart was again created using selfies sent in by 73 Daiichi Sankyo employees from around the world to show their support of the LGBTQ+ community. Symbolizing mutual respect and inclusion and diversity, the heart mosaic is emblematic of the Daiichi Sankyo Group of companies’ commitment to fostering an organizational culture in which all employees can feel safe and demonstrate their abilities to the fullest. Passion for Innovation. Compassion for Patients.®

Have you heard of Sustainability Transformation? Sustainability Transformation, or “SX,” is an initiative to synchronize social sustainability with corporate sustainability and then implement the necessary management and business transformations to achieve long-term, sustainable improvement in corporate value. This year Daiichi Sankyo in Japan has been jointly selected by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange as a “SX brand 2024.” Leading companies that increase their ability to generate sustainable growth resources through SX and realize increased corporate value are selected and recognized as "SX brands." With this selection, our company has been recognized for our ability to link our business strategy and human resources strategy and elevate them into an overall strategy in pursuit of our 2030 vision to "become a leading global health company that contributes to the development of a sustainable society." We have also been recognized for our distinctive efforts to continuously invest in research and development and undertake measures to enhance our human capital, which is the origin of the Daiichi Sankyo group of companies’ value creation. Click to learn more about our sustainability activities. Passion for Innovation. Compassion for Patients.®

The Japan Meteorological Agency has made its annual announcement that the rainy season has begun in the Kanto region of Japan, which includes the Tokyo Metropolitan area in which Daiichi Sankyo’s headquarters is located. The rainy season in most of Japan typically starts in early June and ends in mid-July. This year, it has started two weeks later than average and is the third latest start since records began. In Japanese, the words for “rainy season” are "tsuyu" or "baiu" literally meaning "plum rain" since its start traditionally coincided with the season when plums ripen. This seasonal clash of cold air from the north and warm air from the south can result in continuous rain from mid-June to mid-July across the Japanese archipelago. That being said, the amount of rain, as well as the timing, can vary greatly year on year and geographically. Also, in spite of the name, on some days it doesn’t actually rain at all. In fact, during the rainy season the probability of rain in Tokyo on any given day is around 50%. A succession of rainy days can lead to less exposure to sunlight, especially in the morning when it works to activate serotonin nerves in the brain, leading to feeling “down” aka the “rainy-day blues.” We should be especially mindful of maintaining good mental health during this period. On the other hand, rainy days are not necessarily a bad thing. The truth is, some of Japan’s most iconic sights, such as temples, gardens, hot springs, and even nighttime cityscapes, such as Tokyo station, can be especially strikingly beautiful against a backdrop of rain! Passion for Innovation. Compassion for Patients.®

Dale Shuster, Global Head of Precision Medicine at Daiichi Sankyo, loves science, helping patients, and making ice cream. With a foundational love of science that goes back to elementary school and growing up on a dairy farm, Dale's groundbreaking work in precision medicine began with the discovery of a diagnostic test that enabled eradication of a fatal disease in cattle. Today, Dale is revolutionizing the way we at Daiichi Sankyo approach R&D by leveraging advanced technologies and data analytics, Dale and his team are enabling development of innovative therapies tailored to individual patients. Beyond his professional achievements, Dale is known for his love of ice cream and still carries on the family tradition of making it at home. Click to learn how Dale's expertise is driving the future of precision medicine and making a difference in patients' lives. #PrecisionMedicine #Innovation #science&technology #DaiichiSankyo Passion for Innovation. Compassion for Patients.®

In Japan, about 3,000 people need blood transfusions every day, and as populations in developed countries like Japan continue to decline, there will be an increasing shortage of eligible blood donors in the future. Today, June 14th, is World Blood Donor Day. The date pays homage to the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, winner of the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery in 1901 of the major blood groups and the development, in 1909, of the ABO system of blood typing, which resulted in safe blood transfusions becoming standard medical practice. Although the perception of blood transfusions from TV and movies is something that happens only hospital emergency rooms, the fact is that more than three quarters of transfusions are done in the treatment of diseases, such as cancer. Recently, Daiichi Sankyo Korea and the Korean Red Cross Eastern Seoul Blood Center agreed to collaborate on the “Life-saving Blood Donations for Cancer Patients” initiative to provide support for the treatment of cancer patients in Korea by raising awareness about the risk of hematological complications in cancer patients and the importance of blood transfusions. World Blood Donor Day is a day to thank those who donate blood and to raise awareness of the importance of blood donations. Passion for Innovation. Compassion for Patients.®