Chris Kilbee, Group Director, Pharma, UBM Live, in an email interview with AD Pradeep Kumar, while giving an overview of CPhI Japan 2014, also gives an insight into the Japanese pharma market and the ingredients sector in general.

Please give an overview of the pharma industry of Japan?
Japan is the second largest pharmaceutical market in the world and has been forecast to continue to expand at a CAGR of 2.6 per cent through to 2016, reaching a total value of US$127.4 billion. The growth is being driven by increased medical expenditure due to the ageing of the population and advances in medical treatments. The government is taking steps to mitigate this increase in spending by encouraging the use of generic drugs and by easing regulations, evidenced by the recent revision of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law. These two steps have yielded significant new opportunities for international companies operating in the Japanese market.

What are your views on the ingredients sector of Japan?
The API market in Asia is growing and is set to expand annually by 8.2 per cent through to 2017. Japan is at the forefront of this market growth and remains the leader of the ingredients sector in Asia. Due to rising healthcare expenditures, generics are likely to become more prominent within Japan over the coming years. In response to this, branded products are striving to be more competitive within the Japanese marketplace and in the future it is envisaged that whilst total drug use will increase, so will the percentage of generics within the market.

Could you give a brief on the evolution of CPhI Japan event?
As the Japanese pharmaceutical market continues to expand and become ever more international, CPhI Japan plays an important role in facilitating new business opportunities for both domestic and international companies. Now in its thirteenth year, the event has become the largest gathering for the pharmaceutical industry in Japan and also attracts large numbers of buyers from neighbouring countries such as Korea and China. Running alongside the CPhI Japan exhibition is an extensive program of conferences, seminars and workshops. This means that the event attracts the whole spectrum of professionals in the pharmaceutical industry, from R&D and production specialists to purchasing managers and top management.

Further adding to the gravity of the event is the fact that Japan’s leading exhibition for the medical devices industry, MEDTEC Japan, is held concurrently with CPhI Japan. With the ever-increasing integration of pharmaceuticals and medical device technology, the colocation of the events yields even greater business opportunities.

What are the novel feature of this year's event?
A major highlight for this year’s event is the extensive program of 150 conference and seminar sessions covering current industry trends and providing invaluable insights into the dynamic Japanese pharmaceutical industry. Contributors to the seminars will include a wide spectrum of representatives including the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries & Associations Japan (EFPIA Japan).

Furthermore, the event will include a series of pharmaceutical technology seminars, which will educate the industry about latest products, services and innovations. The series features 30-minute presentations by exhibiting companies and are free of charge to all visitors.

What are your comments on the growth of co-located events?
P-MEC and MEDTEC have significantly expanded at the event highlighting Japan’s prominence within the technology landscape, particularly across medical devices. Furthermore, our co-located event Pharmatec will be evolving in 2015 to become InnoPack and an additional event, LABWorld, will be introduced in 2015, signifying the growth of both the event and the general market in Japan.

The full line-up of events also includes ICSE Japan, a dedicated outsourcing event designed to connect the pharmaceutical community with contract service providers; P-MEC Japan, delivering innovative pharmaceutical technology, machinery and equipment to a forum of decision makers; BioPh Japan, showcasing the biopharma sector, and a further two events- Pharmatec, providing a pharmaceutical packaging and drug delivery focus and MEDTEC Japan, specialising in medical devices.

What is the expected global as well as domestic participation for the event?
Face-to-face meetings are very important when doing business in Japan. That is why participating in an event such as CPhI Japan is crucial not only for making new contacts, but also for developing and deepening existing business relationships. CPhI Japan 2014 will bring together an estimated 16,000 attendees and more than 500 exhibiting companies from over 30 countries. It is one of the most international trade shows held annually in Japan.

What is the expected Indian participation for the event?
32 Indian companies will be exhibiting this year- increasing from 29 Indian exhibitors present last year. Companies present will include generics manufacturers and CMOs and will feature well-known names such as Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Jubilant Life Sciences and Mylan Laboratories.

What are your views on the prospects of Indo-Japanese pharma trade?
With an ageing population, where 25 per cent of the population are over 65, and the highest life expectancy in the world (86 years for women and 79 for men), there is a great opportunity for India to break into the market and sell drugs that will increasingly be required long-term. In particular there is huge potential in the field of generic drugs and ingredients for generics.

The recent regulatory changes will facilitate entry from Indian companies into the Japanese market, particularly as generics are likely to penetrate the domestic industry due to cost-containment efforts being made by the government. We may expect to see some generics production going to India as healthcare costs rise and competition from India becomes stronger. As such, Japan may increasingly look to outsource to CMOs and CROs in India. More Japanese companies may look to buy contract sites, or source contract services, in India in order to lower drug production costs. This will generate an increase in contract services between the countries.

As a result, CPhI Japan provides a central setting for both suppliers and buyers, not only from India and Japan, but from across the globe, to meet, network and drive the pharmaceutical market.

What was the outcome of the last year's CPhI Japan event?
Last year, CPhI Japan was our most successful show to date, attracting over 14,000 attendees. This year we strive to be even better and it is expected that the event will host even more industry representatives from across the globe. Our co-located events also contributed to the event’s success. For example, Pharmatec Japan experienced a successful first year and will be returning for the 2014 event. The seminar series throughout the event was very well received and, as such, will be back again this year highlighting current industry trends and offering attendees further insights into the Japanese market.