Santen Joins Inaugural Global Summit for Eye Health as High-Impact Partner

Osaka, Japan, Aug 5, 2026 – (JCN Newswire) – Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. today announced it will join the inaugural Global Summit for Eye Health as a High Impact Partner, marking another step in the company’s long-standing commitment to advancing eye health worldwide.

Organized by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) in technical collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Summit will bring together heads of government, ministers, international organizations, civil society, and private-sector leaders in Antigua & Barbuda, a Caribbean island nation on 2 November 2026.

Together, they will launch the Global Eye Health Compact, a new global framework designed to accelerate progress through measurable commitments from governments and organizations.

As a High Impact Partner, Santen helps shape the Global Eye Health Compact and, at the Summit, will unveil its global eye health commitment, outlining how the company will contribute to improving eye health over the coming years.

Despite being essential to education, employment, independence, and healthy aging, eye health remains one of the world’s most overlooked public health challenges. More than one billion people worldwide continue to live with avoidable vision impairment^*1, highlighting a critical gap between available solutions and access to care. Addressing this challenge requires coordinated action across prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and public policy.

Rie Nakajima, Director of the Board, Chief Operating Officer of Santen Global, commented:

“No single organization can solve the growing burden of vision impairment alone. By working alongside governments, healthcare professionals, patient organizations, and global partners, we can help strengthen eye health systems, improve access to quality eye care, and deliver lasting benefits for people around the world. With more than 135 years of dedication to eye health, Santen is proud to join this global coalition.”

Santen’s participation builds on its longstanding collaboration with IAPB and partners across the eye health community to strengthen policy, raise awareness, and promote early action, including initiatives to advance childhood myopia and encourage healthy eye health habits for children.

Peter Holland, CEO, IAPB, commented:

“We welcome Santen’s participation in the first Global Summit for Eye Health and look forward to continuing our collaboration to strengthen eye health policies and improve outcomes for over 1 billion people who experience vision problems worldwide. Only by working together like this can we deliver eye care services at scale and speed to end avoidable or treatable sight loss.”

^*1 https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment

About Santen

Santen is a global pharmaceutical company committed to advancing eye health and improving lives through better vision. Founded in 1890 in Osaka, Japan, Santen makes use of more than 135 years of experience in research and development, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical devices to help people around the globe maintain and improve their eye health. Santen focuses exclusively on eye health, and its portfolio includes glaucoma, dry eye, infection, allergy, age-related macular degeneration, and myopia. Santen’s products and services are available in more than 60 countries and regions. Guided by its Core Principle “Tenki ni sanyo suru” – Exploring the secrets and mechanisms of nature in order to contribute to people’s health – Santen combines its expertise with deep patient focus to contribute to the realization of “Happiness with Vision.” For more information, please visit https://www.santen.com/en

About the Global Summit of Eye Health

On 2 November, Antigua and Barbuda will host the world’s first Global Summit for Eye Health — the moment when governments, partners and global leaders unite for the first time to ensure everyone, everywhere can access the eye care they need. At the Summit, countries will set out concrete commitments to strengthen eye health services worldwide, aligning global action and accelerating progress to help reach over 1 billion people living with avoidable sight-loss. For more information, please visit Global Summit for Eye Health – Making the world see the value of vision

About IAPB

IAPB is the overarching alliance for the global eye health sector, with more than 250 member organisations in over 100 countries working together for a world where everyone has universal access to eye care. IAPB believes in a world in which no one is needlessly visually impaired, where everyone has access to the best possible standard of eye health; and where those with irreparable sight loss achieve their full potential. Its key priorities are global advocacy, campaigning on a different level, sharing knowledge, and strengthening the network: www.iapb.org.

Partnership Transparency Statement

Santen supports the activities described in this initiative through collaboration with IAPB. The organizations maintain independent governance and decision-making. The views expressed by IAPB are its own and do not necessarily reflect those of Santen.

The media toolkit:
– Stakeholders Unite to Address Children’s Eye Health Crisis – The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
– Four-page Global Summit Briefing
– The Value of Vision – the case for investing in eye health – shows a 1:28 return on investment – one of the best in global health
– Global Summit FAQs
– Biography of Rie Nakajima, COO of Santen (*Please see the profile below)

For media inquiries:
Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Corporate Communications
Email: [email protected] 

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Rie Nakajima
Director of the Board,
Corporate Officer,
Chief Operating Officer​

Rie Nakajima joined Santen in 2023 as Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer (COO), and was appointed as a Director of the Board in June 2024. She oversees strategic functions such as corporate strategy and portfolio management, as well as execution functions including commercial excellence. In addition, by managing regional businesses, she drives strategic global operations.
Prior to joining Santen, she built a diverse career spanning more than 20 years across the automotive industry, management consulting, and the pharmaceutical sector. In the pharmaceutical industry, she held leadership roles in global organizations in Japan, Asia, and Europe, primarily in corporate strategy and commercial excellence.

Profile 
Date of Birth: December 12, 1977

Apr 2000 Joined Toyota Motor Corporation
Aug 2008 Joined Boston Consulting Group
Aug 2011 Joined MSD K.K.
Jan 2015 Head of Marketing, Cardiovascular Lipid & Atherosclerosis Division, MSD K.K.
Jun 2016 Executive Officer, Head of Corporate Strategy Division and Established Products Business, MSD K.K.
Jan 2018 Executive Officer, Head of Corporate Strategy & Commercial Excellence Division and Established Products Business, and Distribution Lead, MSD K.K.
Jan 2019 President, MSD Taiwan
Nov 2020 Vice President, Organon Strategy & Innovation Lead, Merck & Co., Inc.
Jun 2021 Vice President, Strategy & Innovation Lead, Organon & Co.
Mar 2023 Joined Santen as Executive Officer, COO
Jun 2023 Corporate Officer, COO and Head of North America Business
Apr 2024 Corporate Officer, COO and Head of China Business
Jun 2024 Director of the Board, Corporate Officer, COO

Education
Mar 2000 Graduated from the Faculty of Law, the University of Tokyo
Jun 2007 Master of Business Administration (MBA), Harvard Business School

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