Chugai to close centers and move research into new facility

Tokyo-based Chugai Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4519) is to close two research centers and transfer their functions to a new facility that it will build in Yokohama.

The two centers that will close are in the cities of Gotemba and Kamakura (pictured above), and these units have been leading the development of next-generation antibody technology, middle molecule drug discovery technology, and research on innovative new drug discovery.

Chugai, which is majority-owned by Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX), believes that, because of recent progress in artificial intelligence and laboratory automation, the company should now integrate, share, and use platforms of various research functions in order to promote drug discovery and their multifaceted assessment more efficiently.