Japanese drug major Eisai plans production in India

MUMBAI: Japanese drug major Eisai Company, which has a marginal presence in India with just two products, will soon invest 5 billion yen (Rs 180 crore) to start manufacturing operations in India.

The $5-billion company���s Mumbai-based Indian arm, Eisai Pharmaceutical India, has identified a site in Andhra Pradesh for a manufacturing plant for active product ingredients (APIs) as well as finished formulations, the company's India head Koji Miura told ET.

Besides manufacturing, Eisai would also start a formulation research centre in India. "We want to make use of the excellent process chemistry skills India have," Mr Miura said adding that this, however, is at a preliminary stage. Eisai now sells only two products in India, anti-ulcer drug rabeprazol and dementia drug doneprezil with help from Wockhardt and GSK India.

The drugs are manufactured and distributed by Wockhardt, and Eisai markets them. GSK also co-promotes the drug with Eisai, Mr Miura said. The Japanese firm now has just 70 staff in India including a field force and this is expected to be rise significantly.

Meanwhile, Indian drug-makers too are now keen to get a foothold in the $60-billion Japanese pharmaceutical market, the second-largest after the US. At the forefront is Cipla which is scouting for a partner.

The other companies eyeing potential partners in Japan are Zydus Cadila and Torrent. So far, the only company to have successfully entered Japan is Ranbaxy, which is selling two products there now.

The biggest roadblock for Indian companies to enter Japan is the slow approval process and the reluctance of the local industry and the medical practitioners to accept foreign companies��� products.

Usually, there is a time lag of about four years between a new drug introduction anywhere else in the world and its Japanese launch, while it is about a year in other countries, according to an industry source.

The entire Japanese population is covered by health insurance and the government regulates the reimbursement prices of all prescription drugs. Indian firms find it difficult to penetrate into this market without a local partner.