1941: Eisai Co., Ltd. founded in Tokyo by Takejiro Ueno
1960s-70s: Expands into prescription pharmaceuticals
1990s: Establishes US subsidiary, begins global expansion
2010: Aricept (donepezil) becomes one of the best-selling Alzheimer's drugs ever
2019: Lecanemab (Leqembi) receives FDA breakthrough therapy designation for Alzheimer's
2023: Leqembi receives full FDA approval — landmark in Alzheimer's treatment
2024: Expanding neuroscience pipeline with new molecular entities
商业模式
Neurology: Alzheimer's, epilepsy, migraine — core therapeutic area
Oncology: Multiple cancer drug candidates in development
Vitality: GI and other therapeutic areas
Global partnerships: Co-development with Biogen (Leqembi)
护城河分析
Alzheimer's leadership: Leqembi positions Eisai at the forefront of Alzheimer's treatment
R&D focus: 20%+ of revenue invested in R&D — above industry average
hPHC philosophy: "human health care" philosophy drives patient-centric drug development
Strategic partnerships: Biogen collaboration shares risk and accelerates development
关键数据
Revenue: ¥800B+ (~$5.5B) annually
Leqembi potential: Blockbuster status expected with $5B+ peak sales estimate
R&D spend: ¥160B+ annually
Employees: 11,000+ across 30+ countries
有趣事实
Eisai's name comes from "Eisai" (衛佐), the founder's belief that medicine should "aid and protect" (衛る 佐ける) people's health — the company motto is "ihl" (integrative innovation for health and life)
The Aricept-Lecanemab journey spans 30+ years of Alzheimer's research at Eisai, making it one of the longest and most committed pharma efforts in the disease