Amsterdam, 21st February 2019: The Japanese pharma market is expected to grow quickly in 2019 following the release of a new report published ahead ofCPhI Japan 2019.
The trade exhibition (18-20 March, 2019) will open its doors to 20,000 pharma professionals, as industry executives predict Japan to be the second fastest growing mature market for solid dose drugs in 2019, and even more impressively, the second fastest overall country for biologicals growth – finishing only behind the US.
The findings represent a sizable year-on-year improvement in outlook for pharma in Japan, with expected growth of solid dose formulations improving by more than 10% (rising to 5.4 up from just 4.75 in 2018), with generic drug classes highlighted as offering strong growth prospects. Significantly, it now ranks ahead of all EU nations and Korea – finishing only behind the US of the mature pharma markets.
Laura Murina, Brand Manager CPhI Japan: “Japan’s pharmaceutical industry has long centred on strong innovation and patented drugs, but we are now observing a dramatic increase in generics and biosimilars in the market.”
The outlook for the biologics sector was even more positive, where growth potential for Japan (7.5) was second only to the United States (7.9) – recognising the substantial potential for biosimilars in 2019 and beyond – as a result, the collocated BioPh has become a much larger part of CPhI Japan in recent years.
Japanese companies reported renewed confidence in the domestic market, but more significantly, a larger number are also exploring exports than in previous years. In fact, 2019 will be the first year that Japan’s largest pharma companies gain 50% of their sales from overseas – as recently as 2017 this was still well under 50%, but it has grown quickly in recent years[1]. Crucially, this internalisation is being observed both inbound and outbound and is highlighted on the CPhI Japan exhibition floor.
The report suggested that the resurgence in international interest is being driven by de-regulation opening-up accelerated approval pathways, coupled with one of the world’s fastest growing generics markets. R&D in Japan also remains at the forefront of global pharma – a result of both the attractiveness of the nation’s medicines market and the strength of local research institutions.
The report concludes that Japan is a country ripe for growth across a number of product classes, but the long-term winners of regulatory changes, aging demographics and innovative R&D remain hard to pick.
The event takes place at the Big Sight Exhibition Centre, Tokyo, Japan 18-20 March, 2019. CPhI Japan is an eight-in-one event allowing visitors to gain access to the entire Japanese pharma industry under one roof, and to meet with exhibitors working across ingredients, contract services, biopharmaceuticals, machinery, technology, natural extract, packaging and digital services.
