How Daiichi Sankyo Brought the Cherry Blossoms to Washington DC: Q&A with Dan Switzer

Dan Switzer
Head of US oncology business division
Daiichi Sankyo

The national cherry blossom festival is an annual tradition in Washington DC which celebrates, as the name suggests, the blossoming of the famous cherry blossom trees planted alongside the Potomac River. Dan Switzer, head of the US oncology business division at Daiichi Sankyo, spoke with Pharmaceutical Executive about the company’s history with this festival and it connects to its current values.

Pharmaceutical Executive: How did Daiichi Sankyo get involved with the cherry trees?
Dan Switzer: The cherry trees along the Potomac River are pretty famous, but a little known part of that story is the connection that Daiichi Sankyo has to them. Our company’s history goes all the way back to the 1890s, and our connection to Washington, DC goes back almost as far. It was actually the first president of our company, Dr Jokichi Takamine who learned that the First Lady of the US at the time, Helen Taft, was interested in planting and growing cherry trees along the Potomac. So he worked with the mayor of Tokyo, and he facilitated a gift of about 3,000 cherry trees on behalf of the city of Tokyo to Mrs. Taft and the people of Washington DC as a sign of goodwill and a symbol of lasting harmony between the US and Japan. Every year, our organization sponsors the parade, and we send folks down there. It's a great event, and it's an opportunity for us to remember the initial connection that we have to the festivities and to play a part every year.

It's an annual tradition. In DC, they have a parade, along with other events that surround the parade, but it's always scheduled around the time when the cherry trees are going to bloom. It's a really nice time of year and a very cool event.

PE: What are the benefits that Daiichi Sankyo sees from participating in this?
Switzer: I'll start with the benefits internally as an organization. We are a global pharmaceutical company, but our heritage is Japanese. We do, however, have a large and growing presence in the US and we focus on cancer. As we evolve and grow, and the impact that we have on cancer patients continues to grow, one thing that's very important to us is that our colleagues remember our roots.

One of the things that Dr. Takamine stood for was improving health all over the world. That's something that's still important to our organization and our colleagues. It's something that we pursue every day. This event represents a great way for us to remind our colleagues about our mission externally. It also gives us the opportunity to continue to make a name for ourselves. While we are a large global organization, certainly in the US and in oncology, we are still growing. We're still building out our brand.

This is an opportunity for us to connect with the community in Washington, DC, and it gets national recognition, so it helps to build our brand within the US.

PE: How do the themes of the festival mirror the mission of the company?Switzer: The festival signals the beginning of spring every year, along with the blossoming of the cherry trees. Our organization has a tremendous pipeline based on an incredible scientific discovery. We have technology in one of the most exciting areas in oncology, which are antibody drug conjugates. We have multiple products that are approved today in multiple indications, but we also have a really robust pipeline beyond that in antibody drug conjugates and beyond. It's fair to say that the analogy of the parade and the blossoming of the cherry trees in many ways represents Daiichi Sankyo coming out and growing. We've got one anchor product and many behind it, but we are just getting started as an oncology organization. We're really excited about the impact that we're going to have, both here in the US and also globally.

PE: Can you discuss the cultural impact of the cherry blossoms?
Switzer: The cherry blossoms are very Japanese. I just came back from Japan, and it is cherry blossom season there as well. It is something they take tremendous pride in. One of the things that I love about the Japanese culture is that it is a culture of pride. As it relates to the Sakura and the blossom of the cherry trees, they love to show it off Westerners. During the weeks around the blossom, they walk us around to show us share them with us with such pride.

It's also the same feeling that they have about the company. When people ask me about the culture of Daiichi Sankyo, the first thing I talk about is the pride that is shared amongst everyone working here, and it really does start with our Japanese heritage. This is an organization goes back more than a century. Most of the executives in Japan have been with the organization since they graduated from university. They’ve been here for 30 or 40 years, and this is their life, so they take enormous pride in the company that they've built and the company that we are today.