Japanese pharmaceutical industry: a look at globalization

Japan is the second largest market for pharmaceuticals, with the US being the largest. It represents almost 10% of the global pharmaceutical market. One of the main driving forces behind this large market size is the aging of the Japanese population, i.e. 26% of the Japanese population is 65 years or older. Maintaining a higher life expectancy, Japan tops the world list in both male and female population. Consequently, the medical needs increase; thus increasing the number of pharmaceutical companies, importers and exporters in Japan.

The Japanese government has taken multiple measures to address medical needs. The government’s goal is to reduce total spending on providing adequate health care to the Japanese population. Recently, two important advances were regulated; biennial drug price review and promotion of generic drugs over brand name drugs. Brand name (patent) drugs are expensive as you bear the cost of research, development and marketing. The Japanese medical industry, especially those that focus on brand name drugs, now need to increase their global presence to alleviate this competition with the generic drug industry. In the 1990s, the government’s decision to allow the importation of drugs had already restricted the business available to exclusively domestic pharmaceutical companies.

In this context, it has become vital for the Japanese medical industry to invest in clinical research that facilitates globalization. It has been observed that Japanese companies have spent less budget on research and development compared to American and European companies. Japanese pharmaceutical companies have long been using in-house clinical trials for home testing. However, the growing global demand for new drug development requires R&D, including clinical trials. This provided a space for contract research organizations (CROs) to present themselves. The local and international CRO industry is therefore one of the immediate focus markets for Japanese pharmaceuticals.

Since the Japanese government is aware of all the ongoing changes, steps are being taken to reduce the duration of the review process for the introduction of a new drug in Japan. Recent guidelines have allowed the use of non-Japanese trial data to facilitate rapid introduction of new drugs to the market. It also requires the export of Japanese medicine to clinical research organizations around the world for use in clinical trials. Consequently, most of the Japanese pharmaceutical companies have already started to export the drugs for CRO clinical examination.

With a large number of pharmaceutical companies in the market, it is now inevitable to use technology in the development, testing, and promotion of Japanese medicine. The health department also assists companies that are technologically advanced and planning international expansion. In this context, the online availability of Japanese pharmaceuticals has become vital for effective marketing.

In conclusion, it is to reiterate that the Japanese pharmaceutical industry needs to expand its business worldwide for long-term sustainability. Contract research organizations can greatly support you in benchmarking your inventions by organizing structured clinical trials.