In 1919 he received a degree from the Humboldt University of Berlin, where he had performed pharmacological experiments.
[2] In 1920, he was appointed assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the university of Tokyo, where he taught until 1948.
Ogata blended the red phosphorus and ephedrine, which is derived from an Asian herbal plant, to produce an amphetamine that could be dissolved in water.
[5][6] Ogata's synthesis of methamphetamine replaced much more complicated earlier syntheses, and continues to be used as the basis for modern production and usage of the drug.
It was then introduced as a pill form to treat diseases such as sinus congestion, asthma,[11] and depression.