Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical, the leading manufacturer and dis-|tributor of branded generic medicines in Japan, yesterday embarked on its first overseas expansion by signing a 10-year exclusive distribution deal with DKSH, the region's leading distribution service provider.
"We aim to have at least a 1 per cent share of the private hospital market in Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong, with a value of about ¥150 billion (Bt55.4 billion), within five years," said Dr Yuichi Tamura, president and CEO of Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical.
The company would cooperate with DKSH to file applications in each country, starting in Malaysia and Hong Kong this year and then Thailand next year. The approval process conducted by the FDA in each market would take about a year, he said.
VENTURING ABROAD
The company was studying expanding to the US with a unique range of high-quality Japanese branded generic medicines by appointing a local distributor there. This plan would be enhanced within two years.
The company was facing in-|tensive competition driven by |foreign medical firms in its home market.
"What we want to do is to compete with those rivals in overseas markets outside Japan," he said.
By venturing abroad, Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical hopes to double its sales within five years from about ¥130 billion last year.
"We, however, will focus on |penetrating the first three mar-|kets - Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong - within three to five years before going to the next |step in overseas expansion, which will include other parts of China such as Beijing and Shanghai," he added.
DKSH's Performance Materials Business Unit and Nichi-Iko have already been collaborating successfully in Japan for many years, with DKSH providing API sourcing solutions to Nichi-Iko.
As a long-standing reliable partner, DKSH has now also been selected to support Nichi-Iko in expanding its presence in other Asian markets through DKSH's Healthcare Business Unit.
Nichi-Iko has selected this region as the most suitable area for expanding its brand since Southeast Asia shows good economic growth prospects and the generic segments are still relatively underdeveloped with a limited range of high-quality products available in the market.