In February 2004 Yamanouchi announced it was to buy Fujisawa in a deal worth $7.76bn with a planned completion date of April 2005. The deal creates Japan's second largest sales force, a broad product portfolio and a strong platform for overseas expansion. Fujisawa is in a strong financial position, enabling it to fund a variety of strategic actions such as further geographic expansion and increased investment in R&D. Sales have risen 8.3% year-on-year since 1998, while operating profit has risen 16.8% year-on-year over the same period. Fujisawa has already achieved a strong international presence, with 41.9% of sales derived from overseas markets in 2002. This success has been ...

As the second largest Japanese pharmaceutical company, Sankyo\s pharmaceutical division reported a 5.2% increase in sales over the period 2001-02, up from $3,368m to $3,542m. This growth was driven by ethical sales, which rose by 6.1% and accounted for 74.3% of the company's total sales. As Sankyo's best selling product, Mevalotin accounted for 41.7% of sales in 2002 but generic competition entered the Japanese market in mid-2003. Generic pravastatin is expected to reach the US in 2006. Therapeutic expansion is a key part of Sankyo's strategy, with both in-house development and in-licensing broadening the company's focus into new areas, such as diabetes and respiratory disorders. ...

Takeda is the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and the 16th largest globally. It experienced strong ethical sales growth of 8.9% (excluding sales of vitamins) to $6,357m in 2002. However, sales growth is forecast to slow, increasing year-on-year by just 0.2% between 2002 and 2008. A Future growth is at risk due to Takeda's weak late stage pipeline and mature portfolio of marketed products. Some 55.5% of Takeda's sales were at risk of generic competition in 2002. With only one pipeline product expected to be launched by 2008, the company must increase its investment in in-licensing. Takeda is currently an attractive licensing partner for smaller Japanese companies with negligible o...

In February 2004 Yamanouchi announced it was to buy Fujisawa in a deal worth $7.76bn with a planned completion date of April 2005. The deal creates Japan's second largest sales force, a broad product portfolio and a strong platform for overseas expansion Yamanouchi's pharmaceutical sales increased by 7.7% in 2002 to S3,285m. Future growth will be driven by a combination of in-house development and in-licensing of key products. With cash and short-term investments at S2.7bn in 2002, Yamanouchi is in a strong financial position, enabling it to invest in further strengthening its portfolio via licensing deals. Yamanouchi now has a US subsidiary, Yamanouchi Pharma America. This will a...