JCR supports various activities in the field of public health while promoting activities that contribute to local communities.

Initiatives for Society

Basic Concept

With the aim of contributing to the unmet medical needs of patients and their families around the world, JCR supports medical research and the development of young researchers; provides humanitarian assistance in medically underserved countries; offers aid for the development of maternal and child health care; and supports children undergoing medical care and their families. Further, in an effort to address the world’s medical needs as quickly as possible, we are working to disseminate the latest developments and expand access to pharmaceuticals. Through such activities, we aim for a society in which no one will be left behind and the sustainable growth of JCR.

Support for the “International Medical Research Foundation”

JCR supports the activities of the “International Medical Research Foundation,” which helps to foster medical researchers who can succeed internationally through programs such as study abroad grants. Since its establishment in April 2019, the International Medical Research Foundation has carried out a study abroad grant program for young medical researchers as well as a program to provide grants to international symposiums on medical research that are held both in Japan and overseas.
In the past few years, the declining international competitiveness of Japan’s scientific research has become a serious problem. For this reason, efforts to support study abroad opportunities involving research at leading overseas institutions and efforts to support international symposiums that invite internationally recognized foreign researchers at the forefront of their research fields carry tremendous significance. Accordingly, JCR endorses the activities of the International Medical Research Foundation.

Support for the Swiss Nonprofit Foundation “Global Foundation for Life Sciences”

As part of its efforts to contribute to global health, JCR has continued to support the “Global Foundation for Life Sciences,” a nonprofit foundation, since it was established in Switzerland in 1999. This foundation supports the advancement of life sciences, provides humanitarian assistance to various medically underprivileged countries and also provides support for the development of young researchers.
One example of the humanitarian assistance provided by this foundation is its support for the activities of a group of volunteer Swiss doctors formed to treat women suffering from obstetric fistula in West Africa. Obstetric fistula is a condition where a hole is formed in the birth canal or surrounding tissues due to inadequate medical care in cases where under-aged women become pregnant and give birth, among other situations, causing chronic fecal and urinary incontinence. The number of fistula patients is approximately 2 million worldwide with about 100,000 women newly diagnosed with the condition every year. The nature of the symptoms means that women with obstetric fistula face difficulties in their daily lives, in addition to some reported cases of harm from social discrimination and exclusion.
The group of volunteer doctors regularly visits a hospital in Benin, a country in West Africa, and undertakes activities to eradicate obstetric fistula, performs surgeries on patients and provides technical instruction to local doctors.
JCR contributes to the development of people’s health and medical care by supporting the activities of this foundation.

©fistula group

Support for the “Award for Promotion of Maternal Child Health”

JJCR supports the “Award for Promotion of Maternal Child Health” (sponsored by the Mothers’ and Children’s Health and Welfare Association), as part of its efforts to provide support for pediatric diseases and public health.
The Award for Promotion of Maternal Child Health was created to commemorate the International Year of the Child in 1979. The award seeks to encourage the good work of individuals who have made great contributions to society and the field of community-based maternal and child health, in areas such as research on motherhood and children’s health, raising widespread awareness of public health principles, providing practical education and instruction, and upgrading and expanding the development of public health facilities. By recognizing these accomplishments, the award program seeks to further promote the development of maternal and child health. Every year, 15 award recipients are selected from among candidates working in the field of maternal and child health. The recipients include public health nurses, midwives, nurses, doctors, dentists, nutritionists, dental hygienists, nursery school teachers, and maternal and child health support workers, who are chosen for the award based on recommendations from the head of prefectures, ordinance-designated cities, core cities and special wards.

Link to Award for Promotion of Maternal Child Health website (Only in Japanese)

Momiji House, a Short-Stay Medical Care Facility

JCR supports Momiji House, Japan’s first short-stay medical care facility for children requiring constant medical care. The facility was built on the grounds of the National Center for Child Health and Development (Setagaya-ku, Tokyo) in April 2016. Momiji House provides 24-hour-a-day medical care for children who require constant medical care at home. Those with serious illness and disabilities and their families can stay for several days at Momiji House, feeling secure and comfortable as if they were at home. Aiming to realize medical care for those living with rare and intractable diseases and their family members, JCR has continued to provide seamless support dating back to the time before the opening of Momiji House.

Link to Momiji House website (Only in Japanese)

Donations to Kyoto University (Third-Party Allotment of Treasury Stock)

JCR aims to provide financial support to enable young researchers involved in life science or basic research as well as cancer immunotherapy research to concentrate on their studies, donating through third-party allotment of treasury stock to two funds established within Kyoto University, the Tasuku Honjo “Yuh-shi” Fund and the Cancer Immunotherapy Research Fund. By donating to these two funds, we support the development of challenging and creative basic research that could cause a paradigm shift in the field of life science and research aiming at realizing full cancer recovery, which is a long-cherished wish of humankind.

Providing Information at Academic Conferences

As a company that seeks to be “a global specialty pharma in the rare disease arena,” JCR strives not only to deliver superior pharmaceuticals, but also to actively provide information on cutting-edge technologies, clinical trial evidence, and related matters.
In February 2023, at the 19th Annual WORLDSymposium^™, an international research conference on the basic research and clinical application of LSDs, 10 topics related to JR-141, JR-171, and JR-441, JR-471, and other candidate treatments for LSDs which it is developing using its proprietary J-Brain Cargo^® technology were presented orally or as posters, while it also opened a booth at the venue where information was exchanged with relevant parties.
Clinical trial results for JR-141 were also presented at the 6th Asian Congress on Inherited Metabolic Diseases 2023 held in March 2023.

Efforts to Expand Access to Pharmaceuticals

IZCARGO^® was approved and launched in Japan in 2021, and Phase III global clinical trials for JR-141 are currently underway outside of Japan. While JCR is working to strengthen product development and registration in order to deliver this treatment to patients around the world, it has also entered into an agreement with Clinigen Limited (“Clinigen”) of the UK, and in March 2023 began addressing access to the drug in countries where it has not yet been approved through its Named Patient Supply program for IZCARGO^®.
Clinical trials are conducted in selected regions, and registration requirements limit the number of patients who can participate. We have thus decided to implement a program through Clinigen to provide access to this treatment to patients who meet the medical needs, regulations, and standards of each country. Our goal through this program is to expand appropriate access to pharmaceuticals.