TOKYO -- In the global race to develop COVID-19 vaccines, Japan has been conspicuous by its absence. But if the world's third-largest economy is to find standard-bearers in the push for homegrown vaccines, Shionogi, a maker of drugs for infectious diseases, and its media-savvy CEO, Isao Teshirogi, might be prime candidates.
The 61-year-old chief executive appears on TV, in newspapers and magazines and at international conferences, promoting his company's efforts to develop a vaccine and drugs against COVID-19. Teshirogi took the helm in 2008 at age 48 and is widely credited with turning the struggling drugmaker into the nation's most profitable one by focusing on a few select areas, including infectious diseases.
