Japanese Pharmaceutical Companies in International Comparison Focusing on Financial Data
Naoya Fujiwara ( The Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Research Senior Researcher)
Takahito Kushi ( The Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Research Senior Researcher)
Mitsuaki Yamamoto ( The Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Research Senior Researcher)
Shuji Onozuka（ The Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Research Senior Researcher)
(No.23: Published October 2004)
As the environment surrounding the pharmaceutical industry becomes increasingly severe, what actions have pharmaceutical companies taken to overcome international competition? In this study, we compared and analyzed domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies by company size and nationality (Japan, the U.S., and Europe) using financial data to see how their sales, cost structures, and R&D investments have changed over the past 10 years.
The results show that Japanese companies have increased sales, albeit at a low growth rate, by aggressively expanding overseas over the past decade, while their home markets have grown only slightly. At the same time, the company has been working to reduce costs, and as a result, both the amount and rate of operating income have improved. In addition, the company has strengthened its investment in R&D to create new drugs and blockbusters. However, compared to overseas firms, the company's size disparity is widening, and its profitability is still below that of overseas firms. Furthermore, the gap in R&D investment is widening, and it is clear that there are significant differences in the number of new drugs and pipelines resulting from this investment.