Engaging patients at the Healthcare Café in Japan | Takeda Stories

“I hope that by seeing my situation, including my struggles with speech and mobility, you can understand things that may not have been obvious before.”

Those powerful words from Motoko Nakamura of The Japanese Society of Ataxia Patients explain the whole purpose behind the Healthcare Café.

Takeda organizes "Healthcare Café" in collaboration with other pharmaceutical companies that share our passion for incorporating patient insights into drug discovery. These events serve as a dynamic platform where patients with various health conditions, medical professionals, and pharmaceutical company employees can engage in meaningful dialogue and exchange ideas. The objective is to incorporate patient perspectives early into drug discovery and development.

Hiromi Fukuda is manager of strategy and operations in Takeda’s research division. She is a starting member of the Healthcare Café and shared her vision for the initiative: "I want to build a real relationship of trust and dialogue with patients, steering our research towards treatments that truly benefit them. Since its founding, Takeda has placed patients at the forefront, consistently prioritizing integrity in its business practices. Even today, more than 240 years later, these values remain unchanged."

The Healthcare Café is just one example of our global approach to patient-focused drug development.

Our global head of patient insights and engagement, Ramona Burress, says our patient focus spans the discovery phase all the way through to post-approval and launch.

"Our engagement strategy drives global health equity by understanding the factors that shape a patient's journey to better health,” she explains. “Recognizing that patients are individuals leading full lives, we aim to understand their needs, beliefs, and expectations. This understanding provides us with actionable insights that enhance our daily work, so that our scientific innovation translates into meaningful patient benefits. Our commitment to placing the patient at the heart of what we do has been a cornerstone of our company for over two centuries and will continue to guide our future endeavors.”