Struggling FujiFilm Jumps Into Medicine

Above, FujiFilm Square (background) down the street from Roppongi Crossing. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There was once a day when one of the great debates was who made the better photographic film (grain, saturation, color balance, speed, sharpness, etc.), Kodak or Fujifilm.

Since the advent of digital photography, one doesn't hear about photographic film anymore. Both Kodak and Fujifilm suffered major losses of revenue as people tossed their film cameras in favor of digital ones. Both companies, in order to survive, branched out into other kinds of business, many of which are totally unrelated to film or photography.

The Japan Times has an article on the manufacturing of medicine to fight the deadly Ebola virus through their subsidiary company, Toyama Chemical.

They wrote:

When Japan announced it was ready to supply a new drug to help combat the deadly Ebola virus, one unusual detail emerged — it would be made by Fujifilm. 

The company synonymous with cameras and photo booths said it could start producing Avigan, which Japan has already approved to treat the flu but which scientists think also could crimp the vicious illness. 

Fujifilm’s expansion from pictures to pills through health care subsidiary Toyama Chemical is a business move being echoed by other manufacturing giants, including Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba, as fierce competition, a shrinking domestic market and their fall from global dominance in electronics nudges them into new spheres.

The article also shows that diversifying into other areas of manufacturing isn't just confined to photographic and electronics companies.

FujiFilm has a big facility, FujiFilm Square, in the Roppongi section of Tokyo with museum exhibits, galleries and Touch FujiFilm where visitors can try out new photographic products.

To read the full article, go here.