From a centuries-old pharmaceutical district to regenerative medicine and healthy longevity, Osaka is connecting the pieces of a modern life sciences ecosystem.
Osaka has been a center of Japan’s pharmaceutical industry for centuries. Doshomachi, in the heart of the city, developed as a major medicine trading district during the Edo period and remains home to more than 300 pharmaceutical-related companies today. That legacy is now being extended into a broader life sciences ecosystem linking research, clinical expertise, regulation, investment and commercialization.
At the center of this strategy are three complementary hubs: Saito, KENTO and Nakanoshima Qross.
Saito, in northern Osaka, focuses on drug discovery and life sciences R&D, with research institutes, biotech companies and incubation facilities concentrated in the area.
KENTO — the Northern Osaka Health and Biomedical Innovation Town — focuses on health, medical innovation and healthy longevity. It is home to the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center and the National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition. Research institutions, companies and local communities are working together on preventive healthcare, health data and new products and services.
In central Osaka, Nakanoshima Qross is focused on bringing future medicine closer to clinical use and the market. Opened in 2024, it brings together medical institutions, R&D facilities, startups and business-support organizations, with regenerative medicine as a major focus alongside genomic medicine, AI and IoT.
Across the three hubs, different functions of the innovation process are taking shape: drug discovery in Saito, health innovation in KENTO, and the industrialization of future medicine at Nakanoshima Qross.
From Research to Market
Osaka’s strategy reflects wider changes in global healthcare.
Ageing populations are driving demand for longer healthy life expectancy. AI is reshaping drug discovery, regenerative medicine is advancing toward broader clinical application, and health data is becoming increasingly important for research and prevention.
Osaka is backing these fields with regulatory, research and laboratory infrastructure. The Kansai branch of Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, or PMDA, is located at Nakanoshima Qross, while national research organizations and strategic special-zone frameworks support the wider innovation environment.
Shared and turnkey laboratories at Nakanoshima Qross and KENTO also allow startups and overseas companies to begin research without constructing facilities from scratch.
Osaka also operates within a broader Kansai life sciences network. Biocommunity Kansai, or BiocK, describes its strategy as a shift “from concentration to collaboration,” connecting universities, corporations, startups and investors across Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe.
Source: Osaka Bio Headquarters
A Softer Landing for Global CompaniesFor international companies entering Japan, Osaka is developing practical support alongside its research base.
The Osaka Business and Investment Center, or O-BIC, provides one-stop support for foreign companies establishing operations in the city. From fiscal 2001 through fiscal 2025, it supported 742 foreign companies.
Eligible foreign-affiliated companies establishing headquarters functions in Osaka Prefecture may also receive investment subsidies of up to JPY 100 million.
International partnering programs, including the EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference and WHX Osaka, connect overseas companies with Japanese partners, while the region also participates in global industry events such as BIO International and BIO-Europe.
In 2024, Australia-based MedTech Actuator chose Osaka for its first East Asian base, citing the region’s concentration of universities, research institutions and healthcare organizations.
The Post-Expo Opportunity
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai brought future healthcare and emerging technologies to a global audience. The task now is to turn that visibility into sustained investment, collaboration and business creation.
Osaka enters that next phase with a long-established pharmaceutical industry, major research institutions, clinical expertise, regulatory access and a growing network of startups and investors.
For global life sciences companies, Osaka offers a growing base for partnerships, technology development and entry into the Japanese market.