Singapore, Jan 1, 2008: Japan’s leading manufacturer of analytical instruments and medical equipments, Shimadzu’s analytical and measuring instrument division is its largest in terms of revenues. The sector accounts for 57 percent of its business followed by aircraft and industrial equipment, which accounts for 22 percent and medical systems account for 19 percent. Its chromatographs and mass spectrometers have received good response from the customers. On the sidelines of “Asia Pharma Summit” organized by Shimadzu Asia Pacific in Singapore, BioSpectrum spoke to Mr Prem Anand, Business Manager, Shimadzu Asia Pacific, Mr Senya Imamichi, Deputy Managing Director, Shimadzu Analytical India and Mr Tsuguo Kishida, Managing Director, Shimadzu Asia Pacific, about the opportunities and their plans of growth in life sciences in Asia Pacific region. Excerpts from the interview:

What factors led to Shimadzu’s success in life sciences space in the Asia Pacific region?
Mr Prem Anand: Shimadzu is an innovative technology provider. We have a long history and experience of understanding and fulfilling the requirements of the industry in analytical instrumentations space. I think in chromatography we are one of the first to release the GC with integrator, which is widely accepted by industries
even today.

We have sold more than 15,000 systems of Prominence HPLC since its launch in late 2004. Shimadzu is the first to launch the truly integrated HPLC – LC-2010 systems for the pharma industry, and now it has become an industry standard. And in the Asia Pacific region, I would say Shimadzu safely is one of the top three suppliers’ of analytical instrumentations to the pharmaceutical and life sciences and other related industries. If you ask the factors for success of Shimadzu, it’s the long history of Shimadzu as we have been in the business since 1875. Our experience in analytical instrumentations has been accumulated over many years.

From the market point of view, we should not forget that Asia has emerged as the new epicenter for drug development and manufacturing with excellent opportunities and possibilities. Strong government back-up and maturing analytical technologies are making more companies cross regional barriers and become world players in the pharma market. This is another factor that contributes to our life science success in the region.

As a front runner in offering need-based products to customers, what next the researchers in life sciences can look forward to from Shimadzu in the near future? 
Mr Senya Imamichi: Shimadzu is a leading manufacturer not only of analytical instruments but also of medical equipment. The new life science technology created by combining the technologies of medical instruments and analytical instruments will enable the development of new drugs and new clinical test methods that were impossible earlier.

As a manufacturer of diagnostic PET scanners in Japan we have developed a small- animal –PET scanner that supports drug discovery and already started selling in Japan. In future, these scanners can play a major role in pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and the evaluation of receptor occupancy.

In addition to providing the basic instruments used in the life sciences areas, we are continually striving to provide more effective up-to-date analytical technologies. The MALDI-TOFMS, microchip electrophoresis, ultra fast LC, and MS microscope technologies are expected to fulfill important roles in the respective fields of protein analysis, DNA and RNA analysis, the ultrahigh-speed analysis of pharmaceutical products, and molecular imaging.

How do you perceive life sciences industry in growth potential as compared to the other industries you cater to? Can you share the growth plans for life sciences division?
Mr Tsuguo Kishida: The growth of the life science sector is more compared to any other industries. In the Asia Pacific region we are looking at a growth rate of over 15 percent in the next three years.  Currently, the Asia Pacific region’s total revenue is about $100 million and we are looking at increasing this number to $150 million in the coming three years. The pharma and life science sectors contribute to about 50 percent of our total turnover. To achieve this growth we will integrate different operations. At the same time we also employ more professionals with life sciences
background to work with our distributors and
customers.

Considering the growing activities in life sciences space in Asia Pacific region, which countries according to you provide a better market of growth for Shimadzu?
Mr Tsuguo Kishida: India provides a lot of opportunities for us to grow in life sciences area followed by Singapore and Vietnam.