The Hindu Business Line : Daiichi Sankyo makes a big splash

Chennai, June 11 It was in May 2008 that Daiichi Sankyo Ltd signalled its entry into India, through a co-promotion agreement with GlaxoSmithKline, to sell its anti-hypertensive drug Olmesartan. At that time, media reports had suggested that the second largest Japanese pharmaceutical company would set up a research and development centre and contract manufacture some of its drugs.

Hardly a month after that announcement, Daiichi Sankyo — founded in September 2005 through the merger of Sankyo Ltd and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co Ltd — made an even bigger splash, by buying out Ranbaxy’s promoters.

Financials

Daiichi Sankyo had revenues of ¥880 billion and net profit of ¥97.7 billion for the year ended March 31, 2008 (100 yen = Rs 39.83). It has 15,300 employees.

With the announcement on Wednesday, the company’s shares gained close to 5 per cent on the Tokyo stock exchange to end the day at ¥2,975, after touching a high of ¥3,030.

Information available on Daiichi Sankyo’s Web site shows that Sankyo was founded in 1899 and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co Ltd came into being in 1918.

Holdings

Banks and financial institutions own nearly half of Daiichi Sankyo Pharmaceutical with foreign individuals and foreign corporations being the second largest category with a 29 per cent holding. Daiichi Sankyo, according to details on the site, has a capital of ¥50 billion and is into R&D, manufacturing, import, and sales and marketing of pharmaceutical products. Its pharmaceutical products can be broadly classified into three categories — cardiovascular disease-related; infectious diseases, bones, joints, immune system, allergy, urology; and contrast agents and cancer.

Japan accounts for 68 per cent of Daiichi Sankyo’s sales, with North America being the second largest market contributing 20 per cent, followed by Europe with 9 per cent and other markets 3 per cent.

Daiichi Sankyo, which has drawn up an action plan till 2015, is keen on strengthening its research and development activity. It plans to establish a global R&D system and improve the R&D pipeline by strategic investments. The company is also keen on expanding its base in Asian and Latin American regions.

Discussing its results for the year ended March 2008, the company has said that challenging conditions prevailed in the global pharmaceutical market. Growth stagnated in the US, while off-patent blockbuster drugs experienced sales erosion from generic products.

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