Japan stock week to June 5

Tokyo saw a pullback in the reporting week to June 5 as the Nikkei 225 lost 1.5% to close at the 15,600 level. The Topix Index fell 1.3% and, mid-week, the market temporarily dropped to a three-month low of under 15,500 as investors attempted to take profits on major stocks after the recent rally. The recovery to some extent took place later in the review week with buying back of high-priced technology stocks and large capitalization issues.

However, a decline was recorded in the last trading day after media reports that the well-known investment fund manager, Yoshiaki Murakami, was arrested due to alleged insider trading related to the fund's purchase of Nippon Broadcasting System issues during late 2004 and the beginning of 2005. Players were also unimpressed by a report that Japan's industrial production in April increased 1.5% on a seasonally-adjusted basis, the second monthly gain in a row and the highest since January 1953.

During the week, the pharmaceutical index edged up 0.8%, outperforming the market. Astellas advanced 3.2% on the news that it had launched Vesicare (solifenacin succinate) for the treatment of urinary frequency, urgency and urge incontinence associated with overactive bladder, following the drug's price listing at 119.70 yen ($1) for a 2.5mg tablet and 201.60 yen for 5mg. The standard dose is 5mg once-daily but this can be increased depending on a patient's needs. Vesicare, a key global product for the Japanese drug major, has been marketed in USA and Europe and the company forecasts 4.0 billion yen domestic sales in the fiscal year ending March 2007. The share performance also reflected a report that the company has submitted an Japanese marketing authorization application for a modified-release, once-daily oral formulation of the immunosuppressant Prograf (tacrolimus/ FK506). Astellas' rise came despite negative reports that it had received a "refusal to file" letter from the US Food and Drug Administration for its New Drug Application on RSD1235 for the acute conversion of atrial fibrillation. The agency said that the drug, which was co-developed with the USA's Cardiome Pharma, had inconsistencies and omissions in the database submitted with the application.