The Hindu Business Line : Indian pharma cos making inroads into Japan

After making its presence felt in the US and Europe, Indian pharmaceutical industry in now making deep inroads into Japan, the third largest pharma market in the world.

The growing interest in Japan for Indian companies has been evident for the last one year as Japan has been liberalising norms pertaining to foreign companies reeling under the burden of heavy healthcare costs, Dr P.V. Appaji, Executive Director, Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil), told Business Line here.

“Japan-directed trade from India increased after the Japanese Government relaxed norms making a tie-up with Japanese firm not mandatory . The cost-advantage and credibility is also favouring Indian exports,” he said.

In 2006-07, the pharma exports to Japan stood at $74.5 million. “But during the last one year, there has been great interest in Indian formulations or Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) from Japan,” he said.

Though the exact export value for the last financial year is yet to be tabulated by the council, industry sources estimate that the growth could be between 10-15 per cent.

“Japan is an important traditional market. If it is opening up, it could be a major development for formulations business,” Mr M. Narayana Reddy, President, Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (BDMA) of India, said.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Hetero Drugs Ltd, Dr B.P.S. Reddy, said “The Japanese market would offer good space to Indian pharma companies but the margins might not be very attractive.”

Generic product growth

The generics products, which will find its way into the Japanese market, are expected to grow from 10 per cent to about 30-35 per cent, he felt. Hetero Drugs already has a couple of registrations in Japan.

The Managing Director of Glochem Industries, Mr K. Subba Rao, said the penetration of generics products is very low and is set to grow rapidly as the Japanese market can be lucrative in the beginning. Glochem got regulatory approval for Amlodipine Besilate (of which the company is the world’s largest producer) in Japan in March 2008.

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