Japan Tries To Win Back Big Pharma

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Japan is the world's third-largest pharmaceutical market, but it is increasingly being overlooked by international drugmakers amid stringent price controls that have stymied the launch of new medicines and stifled innovation. Now, the government is fighting back.

This content was published on August 16, 2024 - 09:00 9 minutes

Jessica covers the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to big global companies and their impact in Switzerland and abroad. She's always looking for a Swiss connection with her native San Francisco and will happily discuss why her hometown has produced some of the greatest innovations but can't seem to solve its housing crisis.

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I have been living in Switzerland since 2016, and since 2017 I have worked for swissinfo. Previously I had eight years experience as a journalist with Nikkei, a Japanese business newspaper.

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Japan has a drug problem. Previously a major developer of new and innovative medicines, the country has fallen behind its rivals in the US, Europe and even China, which is rapidly becoming a pharmaceutical powerhouse. A decade-long policy to bring down medicine prices amid concerns over the rising cost of healthcare has also deterred foreign pharma groups from launching their drugs in the country.

The“attractiveness of the domestic pharmaceutical market is declining for domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies”, Hideki Sato, head of media relations at Chugai Pharmaceutical, told SWI swissinfo by email. Chugai, a Japanese drug developer and manufacturer controlled by Switzerland-based Roche, was the country's third-biggest seller of prescription drugs last year.

Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Switzerland-based Novartis, told Japanese news organisation NikkeiExternal link in January that drug loss [unavailability of drugs because they are not launched or withdrawn] and drug lag [delay in availability of drugs] have become serious problems in the country.

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