Life Science & Medical Technology

Japanese drugmakers are accelerating their development of vaccines for the novel coronavirus even as foreign rivals seem to be leading the global race, with the government pushing homegrown efforts to secure stable supplies.

With many smokers reconsidering a habit that seems more dangerous than ever as the coronavirus pandemic rages, an app promoted by a city in western Japan last year may be the way forward for those ready to quit.

Japan approved Tuesday a PCR coronavirus test using saliva, which is much safer and easier compared with the currently dominant method, which collects mucus from the back part of the nose.

Japan's largest diagnostic companies will step up to help the country in its lagging coronavirus testing effort by tripling their combined capacity to roughly 10,000 daily before summer's end.

As nations scramble to develop vaccines for the coronavirus, Takara Bio is at the forefront of Japan's efforts, tapping its four decades of gene-editing experience to help develop a DNA-based approach that has never been used in humans before.

Japanese precision instrument maker Shimadzu will add saliva to the sample of PCR reagents to test for the new coronavirus, after the company confirmed it is as accurate as conventional methods.

Japanese biotech venture AnGes is set to begin a clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine in July, Nikkei learned Monday, raising hopes that the medication could secure government approval by the end of the year.

A Japanese company has moved up plans to mass-produce an ultraviolet lamp developed with Columbia University that it says renders viruses harmless without damaging people's eyes or skin.

A hospital in Tokyo said it successfully transplanted liver cells derived from human embryonic stem (ES) cells to a baby with a potentially life-threatening disease, marking the first time ES cells have been used to treat human diseases in Japan.

Propelled by the wave of keen interest in promising treatments for the coronavirus, Fujifilm Holdings is ready to shed its image as a camera film and copier maker and become known as an operation centered on health care.