Osamu Nagayama

Biography

Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary drug manufacturer operating in Japan controlled by Hoffmann–La Roche, which owns 62% of the company as of 30 June 2014.[1] Previous to Roche's takeover in 2002, Chugai was a pioneering discoverer of many important pharmaceutical compounds. The company is headquartered in Tokyo. Osamu Nagayama is the current representative director, chairman, and CEO. Tatsuro Kosaka is the current representative director, president, and COO.

Research Interest

 Scientists at Chugai discovered an erythromycin-derived motilin agonist called Mitemcinal (aka GM-611 or 3'-N-dimethyl-11-deoxy-3'-N-isopropyl-12-O-methyl-11-oxo-8,9-didehydroerythromycin.) Mitemcinal was believed to have strong prokinetic properties, similar to its parent molecule, but lack antibiotic properties. Presently, erythromycin is commonly used off-label for gastric motility indications such as Gastroparesis. If Mitemcinal can be shown to be as effective a prokinetic agent, it would represent a significant advance in the GI field as treatment with this drug would not carry the risk of unintentional selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria