Daiichi Sankyo expands factory and focuses LA
Valor Econômico
The Japanese lab Daiichi Sankyo is doubling its capacity to produce drugs in Brazil. The only pharmaceutical of Nipponese origin with factory installed in the country, the company is investing to expand its unity, eyeing the growth potential of the domestic market and also in Latin America. Brazil is the gateway to the Japanese group for Latin America, told to Valor the president of the Brazilian subsidiary, Eloi Bosio. The company has an office in Venezuela and will open another in Mexico this year, but the exports to these countries are made from the national factory.
The expansion of the group unit, located in Alphaville, in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, received investments of R$ 30 million (US$ 17.7 million), which allows producing 350 million of tablets per year, the double of the previous capacity. The "reopening" of this factory, scheduled for today, has the presence of the global President of the company's board, Takashi Shoda. The most famous brand products of Daiichi in the country are Hirudoid (combating edema), lactulona regulator (intestinal regulator) and Loxonin (with analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory action). With the expansion, the national lab gains greater autonomy, because all the manufacturing processes will be carried out within this factory, from the production of the drug to the completion of the package. Currently, part of the products is packaged by outsourced companies.
The company's expansion in Brazil is also a means to strengthen its portfolio with the launching of new products and broader dissemination of the ones already approved for use in the country. Last year, for example, the molecule olmesartan (Benicar), key product of the company indicated for hypertension, was the highlight of sales of the lab, said Bosio. This enabled the company to maintain its balance of payments positive, exporting 44% above its imports. Launched in 2004, the remedy is the 4th largest in for the treatment of hypertension in Brazil and the 10th in the general prescriptions in cardiology. With sales still modest in Brazil around R$ 130 million (US$ 76.5 million) (the global revenue is around US$ 12 billion), Daiichi Sankyo, Japan's third largest company, is betting on partnerships, as the one close to the American Eli Lilly for the exclusivity sale in the country of the drug Effient (prasugrel hydrochloride), launched in late 2010.
Indicated for patients who underwent angioplasty, Effient is the result of global partnership between Lilly and Daiichi Sankyo, which perform the production, promotion and distribution of the drug in over 25 countries. Daiichi is the responsible for the discovery of the molecule prasugrel, the active ingredient of the drug, and has exclusive rights to the promotion and sale of Effient in Brazil.
Daiichi, which operates in over 50 countries, maintains a portfolio of drugs for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and infections caused by bacteria, the company is in advanced stage of developing treatments for thrombotic disorders, and its researches focuses on the discovery of therapies in the oncology and cardiometabolic areas. Since 2008, the group has a majority stake of around 64% in the Indian company Ranbaxy, which specializes in generic and with operations in Brazil. Other Japanese, such as Takeda, Japan's largest, and Astellas, the second largest, are eyeing the national market. However, they are represented only by offices in the country. Both seek business opportunities in Brazil, but have not closed the purchase of a unit yet.