Reig Jofre begins exporting to Japan
<p>The company has gained approval to sell a sterile injectable for hospital use, which it will market through Maruishi Pharma</p>
Pharmaceutical company Reig Jofre has gained approval from the Japanese regulatory agency to sell a sterile injectable for hospital use developed with Kern Pharma at their facilities in Spain. The company will begin exporting the product this week through Maruishi Pharma, with which it signed an agreement in March 2015.
Reig Jofre, which has 60% of its sales outside of Spain, saw 5% of its €152.5 millions in turnover in 2014 in markets in Asia and Oceania. In Asia, specifically, the company is working on similar approval processes for its injectables with agencies in South Korea and Indonesia, which the company hopes to conclude this year and next.
The pharmaceutical company, which estimates the contract with Maruishi Pharma will account for 10% of the company’s volume of non-antibiotic sterile injectables, values highly the move into the Japanese market as it is the second largest pharmaceutical market in the world. Moreover, the Japanese regulatory agency is one of the most important globally along with the FDA and the EMA (Europe). According to the company’s press release, they believe Japan’s strengths lie in its business potential and market stability.
Reig Jofre recently acquired a sodium heparin from Chiesi and has gained approval to market it in Spain. Heparin is an injectable anticoagulant widely used in clinical medicine, mainly for dialysis and surgery. Injectable sterile generics for hospital use –which are also developed by the R&D team– have become one of the company’s strengths in terms of internationalization.