Pharmaceutical, bio, and health functional food companies that have entered the market ↑…What is the strategy for expanding the market?
Jun 17, 2025
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According to the Korea Health Industry Promotion Agency, Japan accounted for 10.8 percent of the country's total pharmaceutical exports as of 2023. However, there has also been an analysis that biosimilars are relatively difficult to secure competitiveness due to their very high preference for original drugs.
In this regard, the webinar, which will be held under the theme of 「Intellectual Property-based Japanese Market Entry Strategy」, targets members of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Biological Association who have entered or are planning to enter Japan, the government, and related organizations. The lecture program was prepared by ▲ Japanese generic drug industry status and outlook (Editor General Yuki Maeda of News) ▲ Japanese global pharmaceutical company patent strategy and innovation management (Professor Koichi Sumikura of Graduate School of Policy Research).
Editor-in-chief Yuki Maeda will look at policy trends for Japan's generic drug industry and share countermeasures to solve problems such as quality denial and supply insecurity. Professor Koichi Sumikura introduces patents and open innovation strategies of Japanese global pharmaceutical companies.
The Intellectual Property Committee holds regular seminars for patent practitioners every year, and plans to organize webinars twice this year in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan. In the second webinar scheduled for the second half of the year (August), a patent attorney specializing in Japanese medicine will introduce ▲ Japan's drug application ▲ licensed patent linkage system and major precedents.
Meanwhile, Japan is one of the world's top three pharmaceutical markets. According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, the Japanese pharmaceutical market is about $87 billion as of 2023, ranking third in the world after the United States and China, and per capita drug expenditure is about $705, ranking among the top in the world.
On top of that, the size of the market is expected to continue to increase due to the aging population. Fitch Solution, a global market research firm, predicted that Japan's per capita drug expenditure will increase to about $1,000 in 2028.
Korean companies are also entering Japan.
Celltrion recently applied for a product license for a chronic idiopathic urticaria treatment 'Zoleer'Biosimilar 'Omriclo' to the General Organization of Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices (PMDA) under Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and SK Biopharmaceuticals plans to apply for a new epilepsy drug 'Cenobamate' through its Japanese partner Ono Pharmaceutical Industries within this year. Samsung Bioepis has signed a partnership agreement with Japan's Nipro Corporation to commercialize products such as autoimmune disease treatment 'Stellar' biosimilars.
Kakao Healthcare also established a Japanese corporation 'KHC Japan' last month and plans to target the local market with artificial intelligence (AI)-based mobile health management solution 'Pasta'.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
