Fujifilm plans generic venture with Dr. Reddy’s
pharmafile | August 2, 2011 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â Dr Reddy's, FujifilmÂ
Japanese photography and imaging company Fujifilm has taken another step into the healthcare sector with a new joint venture with generics firm Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.
The two companies will collaborate on the development, manufacture and marketing of generic drugs in Japan, according to a Memorandum of Understanding signed ahead of the weekend. The first products from the JV are expected to be launched in Japan in the next three to four years.
A definitive agreement will be signed during the course of 2011, said Dr. Reddy’s. Although the Indian drugmaker is the established pharmaceutical player it will take the smaller 49% stake in the JV, with Fujifiilm owning 51% of the new company.
Earlier this year, Fujifilm made another foray into the pharma sector with the acquisition of the Merck/MSD Biomanufacturing Network, a contract manufacturing organisation set up in 2010 by Merck & Co, for an estimated $490 million. That deal included includes manufacturing facilities in North Carolina, US, and Billingham in the UK.
The Japanese company had previously set up a generic pharmaceutical joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp in 2010, and extended that in June 2011 to include biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing. Prior to that, in 2008, it bought into the pharmaceutical ingredients’ business via the purchase of Toyama Chemical.
In the past, Fujifilm has said it wants to achieve healthcare sales of 1 trillion yen ($12 billion) by 2019.
Dr. Reddy’s chief executive G V Prasad said: “We are confident that Fujifilm’s advanced R&D capabilities, quality systems and market know-how backed by Dr. Reddy’s generic drug development and manufacturing and experience will help the joint venture establish a strong presence in the Japanese pharmaceutical market”.
Japan is the world’s second largest pharmaceutical market at around $97 billion, according to IMS Health, but has a low rate of generic penetration. At the moment less than a quarter of prescription drug sales by volume are generic drugs, compared with 70% in the USA.
The Japanese government has set a target of increasing the share of generic drugs to at least 30% by fiscal 2012.
Phil Taylor
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