Market Outlook: mRNA Medicines Expected to Be Launched in Japan (2025–2026)
Source: NIHS (National Institute of Health Sciences), Division of Gene-based Therapeutics,
“mRNA Medicines in Clinical Development or Already Approved,” updated May 12, 2026.
[Preventive mRNA Vaccines]
mRNA-1283 (Moderna)
COVID-19 vaccine
mRNA-1083 (Moderna)
Bivalent vaccine for seasonal influenza + COVID-19
mRNA‑1403 (Moderna)
Norovirus vaccine
[Therapeutic mRNA Cancer Vaccines]
mRNA-4157 (Moderna×MSD)
Personalized neoantigen mRNA cancer vaccine
Indications: melanoma, non‑small cell lung cancer
[mRNA Therapeutics for Rare Diseases]
mRNA-3927 (Moderna)
Propionic acidemia (rare metabolic disorder)
[Already Launched in Japan (as of 2025)]
Emrsevia (Moderna)
RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine
[Japanese Companies Developing mRNA Medicines]
NANO MRNA (Japan)
RNAX1 mRNA (NANO MRNA / PrimRNA)
Indication: osteoarthritis
Development stage: Phase 1
Among the mRNA medicines listed by NIHS, the overwhelming majority are developed by overseas companies, and NANO MRNA remains the only Japan-origin company with an mRNA therapeutic in clinical development.
[Patent Landscape: Japan’s Position in Global mRNA Innovation]
The 2024 Patent Landscape Report (JPO) also clearly shows that foreign applicants dominate mRNA‑related patent applications.
Patent Families by Applicant Nationality (2010–2022)*
1. United States — 4,864
2. China — 1,830
3. Germany — 556
4. South Korea — 387
5. Japan — 239
*Source: JPO “Patent Landscape Report – mRNA Medicines,”(2024) [https://www.jpo.go.jp/resources/report/gidou-houkoku/tokkyo/document/index/2024_04.pdf]
p.47, Table 0‑4‑3*
[The number of mRNA‑related patent applications by country/region and the overall application trend from 2010 to 2022*.]
*Source: JPO “Patent Landscape Report – mRNA Medicines”(2024) p.49 Figure 0-4-3
[Overall Number of Applications (2010–2022)]
-2010: 488
-2015: 1,036
-2018: 1,730
-2020: 2,725
-2021: 2,938 (peak)
The sharp increase from 2020 to 2021 reflects the global acceleration of COVID‑19 mRNA vaccine development.
Decline in 2022
In 2022, applications dropped sharply compared with 2021.
indicating that:
- database registration delays
- PCT national‑phase entry time lags
Importantly, all major countries show a decline, suggesting that the pandemic-driven surge (“special demand”) has ended and that R&D investment is returning to pre-pandemic levels.
[Why Japan’s Patent Applications Remain Limited (My View)]
1. Japan Is Not a Priority Market
Clinical development status of mRNA medicines by company nationality (as of June 2024) *
- United States: 87
- Germany: 26
- China: 15
- United Kingdom: 7
- Japan: 4
*Source: JPO “Patent Landscape Report – mRNA Medicines” (2024), Fig. 0-2-3
→ With few clinical trials conducted in Japan, companies naturally assign lower priority to patent applications in the Japanese market.
2. Overseas Companies Rarely Choose Japan as a Priority Filing Country*
The activity maps of major mRNA developers (Moderna, BioNTech, Arcturus) show that:
- all three companies focus primarily on the U.S. and Europe
- Moderna’s collaborations in Japan are limited
- BioNTech has no active collaborations in Japan
Source: JPO “Patent Landscape Report – mRNA Medicines” (2024), Fig. 0‑2‑4, 0‑2‑5, 0‑2‑6
From points 1 and 2 above, it is clear that the Japanese market is not positioned as a major strategic region.
In this article, I summarized the current state of mRNA medicines in Japan based on patent filings and corporate activities.
In the next article, I will take a deeper look at the relationship between academia and industry in mRNA medicine, and discuss the challenges this reveals for Japan.
If you have any comments or feedback on this blog, please send them via the contact form.
I would be delighted to hear directly from researchers and companies involved in mRNA medicine!