东京 — — 政府数据显示，全球制药公司对在日本进行创新药物研发和生产的投资意愿日益降低，引发了人们对该国维持基本药品稳定供应能力的担忧。
TOKYO -- Pharmaceutical companies around the world are increasingly unwilling to invest in innovative drug research and manufacturing in Japan, government data shows, raising concerns about the country's ability to maintain a stable supply of essential medicines.
经济产业省进行了一项调查，收到了超过50家全球制药公司的回复，其中包括合同药企。调查涉及日本境内的83项创新药投资计划。
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry conducted a survey that drew responses from more than 50 global pharmaceutical companies, including contract drugmakers. It looked at 83 investment plans involving innovative drugs in Japan.
调查发现，只有37%的这些计划将按原定时间表推进，而25%的投资将被削减或推迟。与此同时，10%的计划可能会迁至日本境外，另有28%的计划在调查时命运尚不明确。
Only 37% of these plans will proceed as scheduled, the survey found, while 25% will have their investments reduced or postponed. Meanwhile, 10% could be relocated outside Japan, and the fates of 28% were unknown at the time of the poll.
换句话说，这83项计划中有超过60%可能不会或可能不会按原计划进行。
In other words, more than 60% of the 83 plans will or might not proceed as originally intended.
调查共收到82份关于计划投资规模的回复。其中32%的投资低于100亿日元（约合6320万美元），37%的投资在100亿至500亿日元之间。另有20%的投资超过500亿日元。受访者对其他计划未作答复。
The survey received 82 responses on the scale of planned investments. Only 32% were less than 10 billion yen ($63.2 million), while 37% were between 10 billion yen and 50 billion yen. Another 20% exceeded 50 billion yen. Respondents declined to provide an answer for the other plans.
“创新药”指的是能够治愈此前难以治愈疾病的新型药物，或是比现有治疗更安全、更有效的药物。创新药的研发和生产投资计划主要集中在大型项目上。
The term "innovative drug" refers to a novel drug that can cure a previously difficult-to-treat disease or a medicine that is safer and more effective than an existing treatment. The investment plans for the development and production of innovative drugs were mostly for large projects.
由于美国占全球药品销售额的近半，因此美国是制药业最重要的市场。日本则是全球第四大药品市场。
The U.S. is the most important market for the pharmaceutical industry, since the country accounts for nearly half of the world's drug sales. Japan is the fourth-largest market.
因此，即使是日本的药企，也可以通过将创新药的研发能力布局到美国本土来获得显著优势。此外，美国联邦和州层面也有各种激励措施，以吸引全球药企前往美国投资。
So even Japanese drugmakers can reap significant advantages by locating research and development capacity for innovative drugs to American soil. There are also state- and federal-level incentives to draw global drug companies to the U.S.
如果制药公司回避日本作为创新药物研发和生产的场所，这对日本难治性疾病患者来说将是个不好的信号。患者将面临无法及时获得在美国和欧洲首次推出的创新药物的问题。此外，这些药物在日本根本无法获得的风险也存在。
If drugmakers shun Japan as a site for R&D and manufacturing of innovative drugs, it would bode poorly for Japanese patients with intractable diseases. The patients would face a lag in receiving innovative medicine first introduced in the U.S. and Europe. There is also the risk of the drugs not being made available in Japan at all.
特朗普政府正在对药物实施最惠国待遇定价，即美国的药物价格将与可比较的发达国家支付的最低价格保持一致。由于日本的药物价格较低，最惠国待遇政策可能会使制药公司失去在此推出新产品的动力。
The Trump administration is implementing most-favored-nation pricing for drugs, in which U.S. drug prices would be in line with the lowest prices paid in comparable developed countries. Because drug prices are low in Japan, the most-favored-nation policy could disincentivize drugmakers from releasing new products here.
日本在先进医药方面的制造基础薄弱。用于癌症治疗的生物医药产品，2021年国内自给率仅为14%。该省正在努力为在国内建立研发和生产中心的药企提供补贴和支持。
Japan has a weak manufacturing base for advanced pharmaceuticals. For biopharmaceuticals used in cancer treatment, the domestic self-sufficiency rate came to just 14% in 2021. The ministry is working to provide subsidies and support for drug companies that establish R&D and production hubs domestically.