Himalayan Fungus Boosts Mitsubishi Tanabe Revenue

Tetsuro Fujita’s eureka moment about a Himalayan fungus in 1985 may mean part of a $5 billion payout for Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. a quarter-century later.

While the scientist drove over a bridge between Japan’s Shikoku and Honshu islands on his way to take up a research post for traditional herbal remedies, Fujita realized the fungus, used in a Chinese medicinal soup, must be suppressing the immune system of the insects on which it grew.