A chance phone call. A family history shaped by Japanese American internment. Exceeding expectations with a strawberry-flavored medicine that changed the trajectory of a pharmacy business.

More than four decades after graduating from the UCSF School of Pharmacy, Brian Komoto, PharmD ’81, has become an innovative and influential pharmacy leader, growing what began as a four-employee community pharmacy into Komoto Healthcare which employs 180 people across five companies dedicated to helping underserved communities across California.  

Along the way, Komoto has chaired Kern County’s Medicaid Managed Care program; served in leadership roles with both the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) and the American Pharmacists Association; and was appointed to the UCSF Pharmacy Alumni Association Board as well as the University of California Board of Regents. 

Initially drawn to medicine as an undergrad at UC Berkeley, Komoto volunteered at the Martinez Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Discussing a patient’s medication issues with a pharmacist inspired him to switch to pharmacy, as did a desire to better understand his diabetic mother’s medications when she suffered renal failure. 

A pharmacy built on family history 

An out-of-the-blue phone call during his second year of pharmacy school at UCSF took his career aspirations in an unexpected direction. A pharmacist in Delano, California, was preparing to retire and wanted to sell his pharmacy to someone whose family had a similar lived experience to his own: incarceration in Japanese American internment camps during World War II. 

The pharmacist told Komoto how he had buried his savings behind the pharmacy before being sent away, returning years later to recover the money and rebuild his business. The story resonated deeply with Komoto, whose grandfather had rebuilt a family department store after returning from an internment camp. 

"I was not initially intending to own a pharmacy at the beginning," Komoto said. "But because of what he said, and the opportunity, I said, 'I think this is calling me.' " 

Stepping into pharmacy leadership 

Komoto credits the cross-disciplinary training he received at UCSF with preparing him for many different aspects of health care leadership. “The environment at UCSF is really rich,” he said. “You have some of the top physicians and practitioners in the country, and you're learning from them in a very collaborative way. You begin to better understand taking care of a patient as a whole." 

A focus on finding solutions beyond filling prescriptions is the philosophy that has informed Komoto throughout his career. In the early years, for example, his pharmacy carried nebulizer medications, but not the actual nebulizers, which meant an extra hurdle to treatment for patients. He figured out how to stock the nebulizers from his wholesaler, as well as how to get reimbursed for offering this convenience to his customers. 

A few years later, after receiving a medication order for a young child, Komoto called the prescribing physician to investigate the medication’s strong dosage and side effects. Because his UCSF training included compounding, Komoto  came up with a strawberry-flavored liquid formulation to make the necessary dose more palatable. The prescribing doctor called back with good news: Komoto’s formulation was a success. He asked Komoto to replicate the formula. Referrals came in from all over the county, and Komoto’s compound pharmacy business was launched. 

"I always wanted to make sure that the patient could come to us and get everything they needed," Komoto said. “Putting the patient first pushes you to try to do the right things.” 

A broader reach for pharmacy 

Komoto has consistently expanded pharmacists’ role in addressing health care access. When he launched the Komoto Family Foundation in 2014, he started an affordable medication program that has saved over $5 million in patient out-of-pocket costs by providing hands-on assistance with paperwork, enrollment, and co-pay relief. 

He has received many honors and awards in recognition of such efforts. In 2013 he was named CPhA’s Pharmacist of the Year, and in 2017 he was elected to CPhA’s Hall of Fame. 

Looking toward the future of pharmacy, Komoto is confident about growing opportunities  for pharmacists to provide value to the health care system. He points to new models of care where pharmacists help manage chronic diseases, coordinate care after hospital discharge, and serve as some of the most accessible health care providers in every community. 

“The door is opening to us in a way that's never been opened before, and we have to be able to take advantage,” he said. “AI technology is going to be huge, and it's going to revolutionize health care in a major way, but the one thing it can't do is understand the patient-care relationship the way pharmacists can.”