Yakult is actively engaged in research as a means of developing new anticancer drugs. These drugs will in turn become the pillars of our success in the field of pharmaceuticals.
Campto Injection (CPT-11) is a key part of that endeavor. CPT-11 has drawn considerable attention worldwide as an innovative anticancer drug that effectively prevents various types of cancers, among them lung cancer and colon cancer for which traditional therapies have offered little benefit.

Since its April 1994 introduction, Campto Injection has been adopted by Japan's leading hospitals and cancer-treatment facilities. CPT-11 is also approved for use in many foreign countries, including France and the United States. In the U.S., it was endorsed by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in a record 28 hours after a recommendation by the New Drug Investigation Committee.
This demonstrates how high expectations are for CPT-11 in the U.S., which perhaps has the world's most advanced medical facilities. Now, CPT-11 has also been approved as the first line (first phase of chemotherapy) of defense against colon cancer in most areas of North America and Europe. Distributed through licensing agreements with pharmaceutical companies such as Aventis Pharma (a new company formed by a merger between Rhone-Poulenc Roller and Hoechst Marion Roussel) in Europe as well as Pharmacia Corporation in the U.S., CPT-11 is on the frontlines of the fight against cancer in nearly every part of the world. Campto Injection is thus hailed as a promising cure-a bright ray of hope to those suffering the ravages of this disease.

Yakult BL Intestinal Regulator

Yakult's pharmaceutical business offers an array of medicine and medical products led by Campto Injection, Yakult BL Seichoyaku intestinal regulator, a nonprescription drug incorporating the beneficial properties of lactobacilli, and the Calorian L Series of nutritional liquid foods for hospital use. Moreover, many of these products can be found in private homes in addition to hospitals and care facilities.
As a company committed to the promotion of better health, and as a pioneer in the field of life science, we at Yakult have a constant awareness of medicine and its limitless possibilities. Accordingly, our pharmaceuticals business-along with Yakult's foods and cosmetics operations-serves to enhance our influence in this high-growth sector.