Drug maker Pfizer Inc. (PFE) plans to begin selling generic drugs in Japan as early as 2011, the Nikkei business daily reported Wednesday. The company aims to enter the Japanese market for generic drugs in a bid to diversify due to shrinking profit margins on new drugs. According to the report, Pfizer's Japanese unit will in December 2009 set up a division dedicated to drugs whose patents have expired. The division will initially handle sales of roughly 70 of Pfizer's own patent-expired drugs, with plans to apply later for sales licenses for generic drugs based on expired patents of other companies and begin selling them as approval is granted. Pfizer intends to boost its Japanese lineup of generic drugs to more than 100, the report added.
According to the Nikkei report, Pfizer is considering manufacturing the products in India and elsewhere. To ensure quality, the company plans to inspect all its generic drugs to be sold in Japan at a factory in Taketoyo, Aichi Prefecture. In addition to selling the drugs at low prices, Pfizer reportedly aims to add some improvements to its generics, such as offering them in chewable forms.
The Japanese market for generic drugs is estimated at around 400 billion yen in 2009 and is believed to have great growth potential. In Japan, generics account for just about one-fifth of overall drug sales in volume terms, compared with more than half of overall drug sales in the U.S. and European markets.
Pfizer is ranked seventh in the Japanese prescription drug market, but the company's sales there have been in a downtrend. Switzerland-based Novartis AG (NVS), which acquired a local maker of generic drugs in 2005, is the only major foreign pharmaceutical firm currently handling generics in Japan. Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA), a maker of generic drugs, intends to commence full-scale operations in Japan next January through a joint venture with local pharmaceutical company Kowa Co. PFE closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $18.19, up $0.25 or 1.39% on a volume of 48.81 million shares.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.