On August 15, 1889, in the village of Ito in a mountain gorge in Nyu, Fukui in central Japan, Kikuji Naito and his wife Fuji welcomed their sixth child and third son into the family. The child is Toyoji Naito—a boy who would one day found the Eisai Group. At age 15, Toyoji moved west to Osaka, where his career first began. His first job, however, was a far cry from the pharmaceutical industry—an apprenticeship at a mother-of-pearl button factory....

(left) Sakuragaoka Laboratory researchers pose for a group photo in 1940

The Sakuragaoka Laboratory continued to create a string of hits starting with its 1938 launch of Japan's first commercial vitamin E product Juvela, which was developed from wheat germ oil extract. Juvela was closely followed by other successes such as the sanitary tampon Sampon and La Vende, a medicated talcum powder. At this point, the Sakuragaoka Laboratory research team had swelled to 74 members and outgrown its Tokyo facility....

(left) Eisai Nihon's dedicated team of researchers circa 1953

Eisai had overcome the chaotic postwar period and achieved rapid growth through the development of successful products such as its Chocola series, but the company's overall sales were still no more impressive than many newer pharmaceutical firms. In 1956, with the aim of making another dramatic leap forward, Eisai announced its "3-6 Plan," the company's first mid-term plan....

(left) The Eisai Logomark, which embodies the company's founding philosophy

Eisai was now achieving unprecedented rapid growth. During this time, on May 14, 1966, Yuji Naito was entrusted with taking the helm as Eisai's new president. In the years that followed, Japan enjoyed a period of high economic development and internationalization and Eisai was able to establish a nationwide distribution network...

(left) From left: President Yuji Naito, Chairman Toyoji Naito, and Executive Vice President Tatsuo Naito

In the 1970s, public awareness of health and safety was increasing in Japan and vitamin E attracted much attention as a vitamin for preventing lifestyle diseases and the effects of aging. It was against this backdrop that Eisai, confident in its established history as a vitamin E manufacturer, introduced Juvelux to the market in 1977....

(left) Tsukuba Research Laboratories, 1982

In 1987, as the Japanese bubble economy inflated and internationalization became the latest buzzword, Eisai set its sights on breaking into the world's top 20 pharmaceutical companies. Under the leadership of Haruo Naito, who took over after his father Yuji Naito retired from the presidency, the company moved into its next period of long-term planning. At the time, Eisai ranked in 30th place among drug makers worldwide....

(left) Event celebrating the launch of Aricept held in Atlanta, the United States, in February 1997

Upon breaking into the world's top 20 pharmaceutical companies at the start of the 21st century, Eisai's global business made another dramatic leap forward propelled by stellar contributions from sales of Aricept and Pariet (AcipHex in the United States), with its overseas sales ratio in 2002 exceeding 50% for the first time. Eisai also expanded considerably in Europe during this period...

(left) Active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) research wing, Eisai Knowledge Centre, India