News & Media

Amidst COVID-19, Mental Health Leaders, Policymakers Explore Innovations and Policy Solutions to Strengthen Access to Care for People Living with Serious Mental Illness

WASHINGTON, DC – May 12, 2021 – Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (Otsuka), a global leader in developing solutions to meet unmet mental health needs, today hosted its third-annual Advancing Mental Health Policy: BetterTogether Forum. This live, virtual event brought together more than 300 elected officials, thought leaders and stakeholders from across the mental health community to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on people living with mental illness and policies for strengthening equitable access to behavioral health care.

The Sozosei Foundation, a charitable foundation funded by Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc., awarded $100,000 to the American India Foundation (AIF) COVID-19 Response Fund. This grant is drawn from Sozosei’s Disaster Relief and Recovery Philanthropy Program in response to India’s state of emergency, as the country records the highest number of cases and virus-related deaths globally.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and H. Lundbeck A/S announce the decision to continue the recruitment of patients in the phase III clinical trial of brexpiprazole in the treatment of agitation in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (NCT03548584). The decision to continue the trial is based on the results of an independent interim analysis, supporting to progress the trial to the planned full enrollment of 330 patients.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announces that its collaborator Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. has submitted a New Drug Application to the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. seeking approval for Akebia’s investigational drug vadadustat as an oral medication for the treatment of renal anemia due to chronic kidney disease in adult patients who receive dialysis and those who do not receive dialysis.