chemistry

Tanabe Pharma

Tanabe Pharma is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tanabe Pharma rather than just read about it. In short: Tanabe Pharma Corporation (田辺ファーマ株式会社, Tanabe Fāma Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese pharmaceuticals company from Osaka, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation (三菱ウェルファーマ株式会社, Mitsubishi Werufāma Kabushiki-gaisha) was formed in 2001 from the merger of Mitsubishi-Tokyo Pharmaceuticals and Welfide Corporation.

Key takeaways

Tanabe Pharma belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tanabe Pharma to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tanabe Pharma from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tanabe Pharma Corporation (田辺ファーマ株式会社, Tanabe Fāma Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese pharmaceuticals company from Osaka, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation (三菱ウェルファーマ株式会社, Mitsubishi Werufāma Kabushiki-gaisha) was formed in 2001 from the merger of Mitsubishi-Tokyo Pharmaceuticals and Welfide Corporation. On October 1, 2007, Tanabe Seiyaku Co., Ltd. merged with Mitsubishi Pharma to form Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma. The company name until November 30, 2025 was Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (田辺三菱製薬株式会社, Tanabe Mitsubishi Seiyaku Kabushiki-gaisha). Originally founded in 1678, Mitsubishi Tanabe considers itself as one of the oldest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Tanabe Pharma was a member of the Mitsubishi Chemical Group keiretsu.

Products Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharmaceuticals developed the first BET inhibitor molecules. In August 2014, the company announced three-year research collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca on diabetic nephropathy, to replace dialysis or kidney transplantation. An intravenous treatment of Mitsubishi Tanabe is Radicava (edaravone) which has the goal to slow the decline of physical function in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2017. The U.S. American branch of Mitsubishi Tanabe created a locator for healthcare and infusion centers. Mitsubishe Tanabe has also an orally disintegrating tablet for ALS with Exservan (riluzole).

Ownership history In 1604, Tanabeya Matazaemon is granted a license by Tokugawa Ieyasu for trade in herbal medicines with Luzon and Siam. In 1901, Motosaburo Tanabe, the Twelfth established a pharmacy in Tokyo, which incorporated in 1921 as Motosaburo Tanabe Shoten. In 1921, Nippon Tar Industries was established. In 1940, Takeda Kasei Co., Ltd. was established by Chobei Takeda & Co., Ltd. (present-day Takeda Pharmaceutical Company) and Nippon Kasei Chemical Co. Ltd. (present-day Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) and built its first plant in Higashi-Yoshitomi-mura, Fukuoka Prefecture. In 1943, Motosaburo Tanabe Shoten, changed its name to Tokyo Tanabe Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. In 1946, Takeda Kasei Co., Ltd. changed its name to Yoshitomi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. In 1949, Yoshitomi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. listed on Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges. In 1950, The Blood Plasma Corporation of Japan was established with head office and plant in Osaka. The founders included war criminals such as Kitano Masaji who performed torture and experimentations on humans in the Japanese military's notorious Unit 731 during World War II. These crimes were recognized by the UN as extreme "crimes against humanity". In 1952, Nippon Tar Industries became Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, Ltd. In 1964, Blood Plasma Corporation changed its name to Green Cross Corporation. In 1998, Green Cross Corporation was acquired by Yoshitomi Pharmaceutical. In 2000, Green Cross Corporation changing its name to Welfide Corporation. In 1981, Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, Ltd. established a business alliance with Tokyo Tanabe Pharmaceuticals Co. In 1984, Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, Ltd. changed its name to Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation following the merger with Mitsubishi Petrochemical Co., Ltd. In 1999, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and Tokyo Tanabe Pharmaceuticals Co. merged formally and formed Mitsubishi-Tokyo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to take over the combined pharmaceutical operations of the two companies. In 2001, Mitsubishi-Tokyo Pharmaceuticals and Welfide Corporation merged to establish Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation, and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma. In October 2005, Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation joined again with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation to create Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. In July, 2017, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma acquired Neuroderm for $1.1 billion. On 27 February 2020, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and is now described as a member of the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group In February 2025, American private equity firm Bain Capital agreed to acquire Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma for ¥510 billion (US$3.4 billion).

References

External links Tanabe Pharma (in English) "Tanabe Pharma Historical Museum". (in English)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tanabe Pharma

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tanabe Pharma claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tanabe Pharma before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tanabe Pharma ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tanabe Pharma

In research: Tanabe Pharma appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tanabe Pharma in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tanabe Pharma is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Announced mergers and acquisitions, Companies based in Osaka Prefecture, Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tanabe Pharma outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tanabe Pharma in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tanabe Pharma means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tanabe Pharma out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tanabe Pharma in simple terms?

Why does Tanabe Pharma matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tanabe Pharma?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tanabe Pharma.