Japanese pharmaceutical company “Eisai,” a pioneer in the Alzheimer’s treatment market where even global pharmaceutical giants have repeatedly abandoned efforts, has demonstrated the “power of accumulation” by investing in intellectual, human and social capital beyond just financial resources. First, to build intellectual capital, Eisai concentrated its strategic investments on dementia—an area with significant unmet needs—and remained committed despite facing numerous inevitable failures in this high- risk business. Second, to build human capital, the company attracted global talent who shared the same dream based on its clear corporate philosophy of hhc (human health care) that goes beyond conquering Alzheimer’s, and required employees to spend 1% of their working hours with patients to experience the company’s mission firsthand. Third, to build social capital, Eisai has worked to improve public awareness of dementia and established a community and ecosystem to enhance patients’ quality of life throughout all stages—prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care.
“The Long Goodbye”
After former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the 40th president, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), his wife Nancy Reagan described the pain of watching a loved one vanish before her eyes while losing memory and personality as “the long goodbye.” Alzheimer’s is more than just memory loss—it destroys brain nerve cells one by one, gradually breaking down memory, judgment, language ability, emotional control and motor functions. The patient is alive but gradually departs, no longer remaining fully themselves. This is why Alzheimer’s is called a disease harder on the family than on the patient.
The history of conquering Alzheimer’s has been a journey of desperate struggle to postpone this farewell. While there is still no complete cure, the battle to delay the start of this long tunnel—even if just slightly—and buy time has continued. Developing Alzheimer’s treatments is notorious as a high-risk business with the most extreme difficulty. According to a report by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, of the approximately 127 Alzheimer’s drugs that underwent clinical trials between 1998 and 2014, 123 were discontinued and between 2008 and 2018, a total of 86 drugs entered trials, but not a single one received approval.
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This content was translated into English by AI (using DeepL) from an article that was originally written in Korean in the DBR (Donga Business Review). Therefore, please understand that there may be some awkward expressions.
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