Eisai Co., Ltd. has decided to establish a new parenteral facility on a lot retained by Eisai's Chinese subsidiary, Eisai China Inc., at the Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
Eisai currently retains a production facility (Suzhou Plant) nearby the site scheduled for construction of the New Plant; the Suzhou Plant operates as a solid preparation production and packaging base that supplies domestic demand in China. Eisai's decision to establish the New Plant is aimed at constructing a stable supply chain for injection products in China in expectation of future sustained growth in the Chinese pharmaceutical market, particularly a forecasted increase in demand for Methycobal injection, one of Eisai's major products in China, as a drug for peripheral neuropathies. The move is also expected to achieve cost reduction at the New Plant through improving production efficiency in the mid-term. Injection products produced at the New Plant going forward will also be considered for supply to emerging countries, including in Asia and Central and South America, with the goal of having the New Plant function as a global supply base.
The New Plant will be built on an approximately 132,000 m2 lot purchased by Eisai in 2010. The facility will stand two floors aboveground, contain a building area of approximately 2,500 m2, and initially operate as a production line of Methycobal injection. Construction is planned for commencement in the third quarter of fiscal 2013 and completion in the first half of fiscal 2014.
Eisai considers Asia as a core region in its business operations and regards China, a country with the third largest market in the world, as a major force in driving its global business growth. Through the establishment of the New Plant, Eisai seeks to make further contributions to patients by strengthening its production capacity in China while also ensuring the stable supply of high-quality products to not only China but also emerging countries in Asia and other regions.