Formulating a cluster of medical and health industries at the foot of Mount Fuji, eastern Shizuoka Prefecture

The Pharma Valley Project's future cluster vision

  • With the Pharma Valley Center as a core support organization, Shizuoka Prefecture provides support for the collaboration of medical, research and industrial organizations and actively promotes the project. We strive to create a model community based on the keywords “health” and “medical care” where one wants to live or visit, raise a family and work or study.

Fuji Pharma Valley

Pharma Valley Declaration

We, taking the standpoint of patients and families,
declare to foster and accumulate wisdom,
fight disease together, and support each other,
to contribute to the realization of a healthy society.
(The Pharma Valley Declaration is supported by all affiliates of the project.)

Shizuoka, in collaboration with regional residents, industry, academia, and government, is actively promoting the Pharma Valley Project, centered in the eastern region of the prefecture.
Although Shizuoka already boasts the greatest production value of pharmaceuticals and medical devices in all of Japan, the eastern region is not limited to simply pharmaceutical and medical supply factories, but is also a stronghold for many research facilities. In 1996, there was an idea: “How about developing a medical district / medical care castle-town centered around the Shizuoka Cancer Center?” This idea evolved into a 2001 plan to concentrate a variety of advanced medical institutions together at the foot of Mount Fuji (the Pharma Valley Initiatives).
As the plan grew into fruition, it was given the name, the “Fuji Pharma Valley Project.” The goal of the project is to strive to be the longest living region in Japan, by “improving health standards and overcoming illness” and by “establishing economic fundamentals for residents” via the utilization of the strength of local industries’ cutting edge technology. This means vitalizing the region and developing the products, people and communities required to meet the needs of patients and families.

Shizuoka Prefecture

Brief history of the project

2001 Establishment of the Pharma Valley Initiatives
2002 Formulation of the first strategic plan (until 2006):Start up period- Establishing infrastructure Shizuoka Cancer Center opened
2003 Pharma Valley Center (core project promotion and support organization) opened
2004 The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology designated the project as a “City Area Program” and began subsidizing research activities. Collaboration agreements were also signed with Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and Waseda University
2005 Shizuoka Cancer Center Research Instituate opened
2007 Formulation of the second strategic plan (until 2010): Growth period- encouragement of local industry participation
2010 Collaboration agreement signed with Keio University
2011 Formulation of the third strategic plan (until 2020):
Autonomous development period- sales of products both domestically and internationally