Tokyo, June 20, 2007: Stressing the need for aligning intellectual property (IP) strategies with corporate plans, leading Japanese pharma industry leaders today urged the players to evolve a 10-year strategic plan to overcome the challenges expected in 2010 when a large number of drugs go off patent in Japan.

 

Delivering the keynote address at the Interphex Japan 2007 Conference, which also included the API 2007 meet for the first time, Dr Hiroshi Akimoto, Managing Director, Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company, the $11 billion leader, said companies have to take a long term view of the onrush of generics and strengthen their IP departments to survive the 2010 challenge. He was advising the industry on the global and intellectual property strategies of pharmaceutical companies, themed patent wars in drug discovery towards 2010.

 

“In the near future, a company’s IP strategy can make or break its prospects. The IP division has to be treated as a profit center and its impact on innovation and profitability measured to get better value for the organization,” said Dr Akimoto said. In the same vein, he told over 1,000 top leaders of Japanese pharma industry that they should also keep track of how their competitors were handling the IP-related issues. “Intangible assets of a company like IP are valuable and should be monitored and improved continuously within the organizations,” he advised.

 

In Japan, the government policies in the recent years has been emphasizing on greater thrust to innovation in all sectors, including pharma. In 2007, a special committee of the government and industry is drawing up the plans to create, protect and leverage the country’s IP investments with a series of new rules and guidelines, he pointed out. At the same time the goal of the new policy is to use IP strategically to ensure economic and social goals of Japan, he emphasized.

 

Giving the example of Takeda, which is the country’s largest company, but ranked number 15 or 16 globally, Dr Akimoto said Japanese companies have to look at globalization to increase their market penetration. “Can we compete globally? That is the challenge for all pharma companies,” he emphasized. Takeda was in a better position with 51 percent of its sales coming from the US, but still everyone has a lot to do, he stated.

 

At another keynote address, on the strategies for the industry, Mr Masatake Miyoshi, Managing Director, Merrill Lynch Japan Securities, pointed out that the small and medium-sized pharma enterprises in Japan do not have a long pipeline of promising drugs. “The pipeline was not very strong even among the top 10 companies. There are very few companies with more products in phase 3, which may go on to become successful. This is a case for worry,” he said.

 

One of Asia’s largest biotech and pharma event, the concurrent sessions of BioJapan and Interphex 2007 opened in Tokyo Big Center in a business-like manner. The three-day event (June 20-22) has over 1,200 companies exhibiting their products. It is likely to be attended by 20,000 business delegates.