The R&D Department is linked directly to the Company's Head Office, and conducts rapid R&D activities.
Taiyo's R&D Department moved to the Nagoya Head Office in April 2002. By being linked directly to Head Office, we have successfully enhanced the speed of our R&D operations and made it possible to develop and gain approval for a large number of medicines each year.
We realize comprehensive R&D through some of Japan's most advanced R&D facilities.
In our R&D Department, we have research equipment suitable for each type of formulation, and a diverse array of analytical apparatus. In R&D related to solid formulations, we have introduced a small-scale coating machine and a single-punch tableting machine. Complementing the Takayama Plant's Pilot Test Center (PTC), we are able to conduct comprehensive scale-up evaluations. In liquid formulation research, we have lyophilizing apparatus for laboratory use, which enables us to control product temperature, and for semi-solid formulation research we have an ointment-making machine. This makes our R&D facilities among the best equipped in Japan, enabling us to carry out a full program of R&D activities.
Furthermore, in the area of physical, chemical and biological analysis, we have introduced ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), which provides even higher performance than High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), making analysis possible in a short period of time.
Pilot Test Center (PTC)
State-of-the-Art R&D Facilities
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Until now, we have relied on our experience to solve problems such as formulation powder adhering to the press punch surface during tableting and tablet chipping or cracking. By employing this equipment, we are able to quantitatively assess the tablet powder, and make improvements without having to rely on past experience. This not only helps eliminate problems during mass production, but also contributes to faster development cycles.
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A touch-panel control enables all phases of the ointment-making process, from agitation and emulsification to heating and cooling, to be carried out using a single machine. All processes are computer controlled, making it possible to produce uniform ointments with no variation among production lots. This ointment-making machine can be scaled from a single beaker of output to actual production scale.
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By freezing and drying (lyophilizing) liquid medicines in a vacuum state, this machine sublimates moisture. By controlling the medicine's crystal structure and moisture, it is possible to produce medicine that has the desired level of solubility and stability. This machine carries out a process that is commonly called freeze drying.
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To gain regulatory approval for a medicine, a very large number of tests are required. Since UPLC can conduct analysis in approximately one-tenth of the time required using conventional high-speed liquid chromatography, we can carry out tests rapidly.
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This equipment enables surface coating with fine particles smaller than 100μm, which had previously been thought impossible. By masking the bitter taste of the medicine's ingredients, orally disintegrating tablets and dry syrups are more easily administered.
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This machine manufactures stable and uniform emulsions. By carrying out emulsification of the oil phase and aqueous phase using a high-pressure jet, a fine emulsion of even particle size distribution can be achieved.
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This equipment makes it is possible to measure the medicine's concentration in the blood to the picogram level. During busy periods for clinical trials, this equipment is in operation almost round-the-clock, seven days a week.
