Top＞Sustainability＞Sustainability Management
We will promote sustainability in the manner unique to JCR as a specialty pharma in the rare disease arena.
Basic Approach to Sustainability
Since its inception in 1975, JCR has sought to create groundbreaking therapeutics that respond to unmet medical needs, particularly in the rare disease field, under its corporate philosophy of “Contributing towards people’s healthcare through pharmaceutical products.” To this end, we have been harnessing forward-looking biotechnologies, as well as technologies for cell therapy and regenerative medicine.
The global environment and conditions and issues facing society have been changing year by year, but JCR believes that it is crucial to create sustained corporate value through its business activities as a pharmaceutical manufacturer and contribute to the development of a sustainable society, and is implementing activities in the core areas of Rare Diseases, Environment, Society, and Corporate Governance. Rare Diseases, in particular, are closely related to JCR’s business activities and are a domain to which JCR can especially contribute. In addition to developing treatments for ultra-rare diseases and building new business models, JCR has also worked to improve access to medicines. We will proactively engage in things that only JCR can provide even for ultra-rare diseases where there are only few patients as we aim to achieve a society where no one will be left behind.
Core Sustainability Initiatives
| Rare Diseases (RD) | ||
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･ Provide new treatment options for rare diseases |
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| Environment (E) | Society (S) | Corporate Governance (G) |
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Structure for Promoting Sustainability
In July 2022, JCR established the Sustainability Advisory Committee, Sustainability Committee and Environmental Committee to enable in-depth discussions and formulating strategies in close alignment with management in response to the ever-changing social and business environment and challenges surrounding JCR. JCR will continue to work as one team, driven by a sense of purpose in the rare disease field, to pursue sustainability in the manner unique to JCR.
- Sustainability Advisory Committee
- The members of this Committee are Internal Directors, Independent Outside Directors, and Corporate Officers.
The Committee provides feedback on matters presented to the Board of Directors by the Sustainability Committee. - Sustainability Committee
- Chaired by the director in charge of sustainability, members will be employees appointed from each business division. This Committee will identify material issues, discuss and propose ESG-related initiatives, monitor progress, and report findings to the Board of Directors.
- Environmental Committee
- Members will be Internal Directors and employees appointed from each business division. They will consider the environmental impact of business activities as a long-term risk factor affecting business and society, and practice environmentally friendly business activities.
Addressing the SDGs
JCR believes that partnership and cooperation with the international community are the most important priorities for realizing sustainability. JCR proactively conducts sustainability initiatives, in keeping with the spirit of the SDGs of “no one will be left behind.” It shares with and returns to a wide range of stakeholders the achievements of these efforts.
Process for Identifying Material Issues (Materiality)
JCR believes that it is crucial to continue pursuing the sustained creation of corporate value through its business activities, thereby contributing to a sustainable society. To that end, JCR identifies the material Issues it should address through the process outlined to the right.
Each sustainability committee member, assigned by each division head, has promoted establishing the list of material issues of our company diligently and sincerely through continuous discussion in the committee and cooperation with each division.
- List material Issues
- Derive material Issues by referring to international guidelines, principles and frameworks, as well as conditions and challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry, and from the perspectives of what JCR is uniquely capable of doing and what it should be doing.
- Assess material Issues
- Assess the importance of the material Issues derived in 1. from the perspective of their impact on society and the environment as well as their impact on JCR’s business.
- Assign priority to material Issues
- Based on the assessment in 2., organize material Issues into categories and assign priority to highly important material Issues for JCR from a long-term perspective, in light of JCR’s corporate philosophy, purpose, business activities, and Midterm Business Plan.
- Determine material Issues
- The issues identified in 3. are discussed and approved by the Board of Directors and are established as JCR’s material issues. The identified material Issues are explained and shared internally so that each employee can take ownership of each issue, and further enhancements are made. In addition, specific material Issues are shared with a wide range of stakeholders through disclosure via JCR’s website and other channels.
Material Issues (Materiality)
Category: Rare Diseases (RD)
| Category | Material Issues | Current Initiatives | Key Indicators | FY2023 Results | |
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| Actual Value | Explanation | ||||
| RD | Provide new treatment options for rare diseases |
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Number of clinical trial starts (Target: Five new drug candidates by FY2027) | 1 product |
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* For details, please refer to the relevant sections of the “JCR Report 2023.”
JCR’s mission is to shine a light on rare and ultra-rare diseases and to provide new treatment options through “medicines that only JCR can create.” JCR listens to the voices of patients and their families and moves forward in creating therapeutics to surmount their challenges as soon as possible, and aims to start clinical trials on five new therapeutics by FY2027.
JCR will also broaden access to treatment, ensure that anybody in the world can receive the treatment that they deserve, and contribute to the well-being of all those challenged with rare diseases. Furthermore, by building a unique business model to make these initiatives sustainable and continuously contributing to society, JCR aims to create a society where no one will be left behind.
Category: Environment (E)
| Category | Material Issues | Current Initiatives | Key Indicators | FY2023 Results | |
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| Actual Value | Explanation | ||||
| E | Consideration for the natural environment |
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* For details, please refer to the relevant sections of the “JCR Report 2023.”
JCR, under its corporate philosophy of “contributing towards people’s healthcare through pharmaceutical products,” regards environmental preservation as a material issue to protect the livelihood of patients and all people.
Since its founding, JCR has taken monozukuri or the art of manufacturing as its strength, and for more than 15 years has manufactured biopharmaceuticals through single-use technology. JCR implements initiatives to reuse plastic wastes such as single-use bags and others resulting from manufacture as described in Scope 3 Category 1 items.
Category: Society (S)
| Category | Material Issues | Current Initiatives | Key Indicators | FY2023 Results | |
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| Actual Value | Explanation | ||||
| S | Creation of innovative platform technologies |
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* Publicly disclosed information only |
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* For details, please refer to the relevant sections of the “JCR Report 2023.”
Starting with the drug delivery technology using a basic concept of platform technology J-Brain Cargo®, which JCR developed in-house and demonstrated as the first platform technology in the world to penetrate the human blood-brain barrier, JCR aims to create various foundational technologies and create breakthrough therapies not limited to lysosomal disorders (LSDs). Findings obtained as a result of therapeutic drug discoveries will be proactively used in academic papers and presentations in Japan and overseas to build evidence for the platform technologies.
In addition, in order to invest our resources mainly in R&D and global standard product manufacturing, JCR is also pursuing strategic and proactive joint research and licensing agreements with industry partners and research organizations in Japan and beyond for products developed using the J-Brain Cargo® technology and other platform technologies that can be expected for use in new drug discoveries.
| Category | Material Issues | Current Initiatives | Key Indicators | FY2023 Results | |
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| Actual Value | Explanation | ||||
| S | Establish a global supply chain for biopharmaceuticals |
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* For details, please refer to the relevant sections of the “JCR Report 2023.”
Biopharmaceuticals manufacturing methods are more highly sophisticated and complex than those used for conventional small molecule pharmaceuticals, and need advanced technologies and ensured quality. At JCR, we conduct integrated production management and quality control from R&D through to manufacture for commercial use, achieving rapid and stable production while maintaining quality standard. JCR also pursues utilization of single-use technology and the introduction of DX in the belief that biopharmaceutical production should be raised to global standard.
JCR conducts regular on-site audits to guarantee the quality of suppliers and ensure the stablesupply of raw materials needed for the manufacture of high-quality biopharmaceuticals. Moreover, JCR will operate a consistent quality system between production sites and build a quality assurance system that covers from the R&D stage through to investigational drug and commercial production, in addition to fostering a corporate culture and human resources emphasizing quality to continue to manufacture high-quality biopharmaceuticals.
Furthermore, JCR maintains a stable global supply chain for pharmaceuticals, including investigational drugs, by ensuring storage of appropriate raw materials and products, and through a flexible and efficient manufacturing schedule.
| Category | Material Issues | Current Initiatives | Key Indicators | FY2023 Results | |
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| Actual Value | Explanation | ||||
| S | Human resource development to support growth |
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* For details, please refer to the relevant sections of the “JCR Report 2023.”
JCR will advance investment in human capital to develop and organize permeation of diversity, equity and inclusion, and activate individuals and organizations promote improvements to engagement. JCR will also advance efforts toward individual and organizational growth by creating a workplace environment in which our richly diverse employees can shine, and strengthening hiring and development of next-generation leaders in anticipation of full-scale global business expansion.
JCR’s human resource recruitment policy is to secure outstanding employees regardless of gender, and over the past five years, the ratio of women among new graduate recruits has been 44.7%. Companywide the ratio of women is 42.1%, and the ratio of women is particularly high in the research, production and development departments at 49.0%, 42.0% and 48.7%, respectively, while the number of female employees in management positions currently stands at 14.5% and is expected to rise further in the future. As a result of establishing various systems, JCR has created an organization culture where richly diverse employees can thrive, and is making steady progress on creation of workplace environments where all employees can display their abilities.
JCR will continue to proactively develop human resources, nurture the skills that will enable the diverse, next-generation leaders to thrive on a global stage and support sustainable corporate growth.
Category: Corporate Governance (G)
| Category | Material Issues | Current Initiatives | Key Indicators | FY2023 Results | |
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| Actual Value | Explanation | ||||
| G | Highly ethical management |
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Examples of Communications Activities
Risk Management Activities
Compliance Training
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*For details, please refer to the relevant sections of the “Corporate Governance Report.”
At JCR, we are been improving our organizational structure that shall meet the extent of the morality, transparency and diversity required for a global pharmaceutical company. We have implemented the various activities to promote communication between executives and front-line persons to create an open atmosphere, and enable executives to have an understanding of workplaces and encourage the front-line persons to raise their awareness. JCR regards such activities as the essential activities for our business continuity. Therefore we have set them as one of the key indicators.
JCR conducts regular compliance training, which opens with a motivational message by a management member and to foster compliance awareness as one team. And to foster an organization culture that does not tolerate unfairness, JCR makes the whistleblowing system known throughout the Company and operates the system appropriately.
JCR has established the Risk Management Promotion Meeting comprised of division Executive Directors as well as presidents of subsidiaries, as business risk managers. The Risk Management Promotion Meeting meets regularly to summarize the risk management activities of each division, etc., preventing the occurrence of Company-wide risks, and to formulate business continuity plans.
Outside Directors comprise 58.3% of the Board of Directors, which engages in active discussions. The high attendance rate at meetings of the Board of Directors (98.5% in FY2023) is a prerequisite for these active discussions. Moreover, with the support of external organizations, JCR conducts a questionnaire for all Board of Directors, Audit & Supervisory Board members and interviews by the full-time Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member to improve the operations of the Board of Directors.