Japan Pharma outlook 2015

The new pricing system adopted in Japan from April 2014 is a game changer initiative. It pains most of the companies - whether generic or innovator, according to a new report from Research and Markets, titled “Japan Pharma Outlook 2015: Year to Watch out for Authorized Generics (AGs), Biosimilars and Overseas Strategic Initiatives.”

Most of the companies are revalidating their domestic (and thus overseas) strategies to adopt with new regulations. For the innovators - testing authorized generics (AGs) phenomenon for protecting their long-listed sales against generic could be one of new choices in Japan. The format and regulations for AGs are still not clear in Japan, however with the largest Japanese product Blopress AG launched recently and generic companies in a queue to compete with their generic versions will make the things lucid for the fate of AG's in Japan.

For most of the generic companies focusing on reducing manufacturing costs, and for many of them to venture in biosimilars space as a new growth avenue would be focus. The trends suggest that Japanese companies may need to set up or alliance with companies overseas for manufacturing.