Meiji Seika Kaisha to expand operations in China
Japanese company Meiji Seika Kaisha is to expand its pharmaceutical operations in China by launching production of antibiotics from a new ¥3bn factory in Jining, Shandong Province from April.
Japanese company Meiji Seika Kaisha is to expand its pharmaceutical operations in China by launching production of antibiotics from a new ¥3bn factory in Jining, Shandong Province from April.
It is aiming to increase output 10-fold to ¥10bn in 2009, 10 times the current level.
The joint venture is Meiji Lukang Pharmaceutical, with Meiji Seika holding 50%. The Chinese drug market is worth an estimated ¥l trillion, with projections for growth to around ¥6 trillion by 2010. Meiji Seika will expand market share primarily in antibiotics, an area where costs can be kept low even with increases in output.
The new facility will manufacture materials used in prescription drugs and veterinary antibiotics. Production of such materials now carried out domestically at its main facility in Gifu Prefecture will be gradually transferred to Meiji Lukang. Sales are targeted at ¥l.5bn in the first year and ¥4bn in 2009.
Also in China, Meiji Seika plans to double marketing staff at sales and production subsidiary Shantou Meiji Pharmaceuticals to 70. The unit handles products including cancer treatments and antibiotics, but is to expand into personal disinfectants and other OTC medicines. In Hong Kong Meiji Seika has joined a local, unnamed company with pharmaceutical operations in mainland China. By making use of the firm's network Meiji Seika hopes to boost Shantou Meiji's annual sales by 400 times to ¥4bn in 2009.