Historically the Japanese market has always been a predominantly domestically focused pharma economy. Recently, however, it has gradually begun to open up further to foreign companies with the aging population. Japan has always spent a great amount on patented drugs, but with a larger population of individuals who require more medication each year, the government has begun to invest in generic drugs to reduce the growing health burden. With the market’s recent awakening to the value of generics (to help supply the rising healthcare demand), international partnerships are fast becoming a driving force for Japan. This has created the ideal time for international companies to get a foothold in the Japanese market.

New trade agreements have been evolving in Japan since 2013. This range of legislation has allowed the country to seek to enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of its welfare system by increasing foreign investment and improving upon and creating new international relationships.

Due to Japan’s aging population and its effect on the market, the volume of generic drugs in Japan is expected to increase by over 60 per cent by 2018. This trend in turn will expand Japan’s desire to secure new and reliable international pharmaceutical ingredients suppliers. With Japan’s adherence to high standards for manufacturing and quality control, their pharmaceutical industry is a key growth economy for international companies.

CPhI Japan, leading chemical and pharma event, is integral to the internationalization of the Japanese pharma economy as it brings together the best in pharma both nationally and globally.The event which enables the industry to network and source, bringing together leaders and decision-makers in pharmaceutical ingredients sector will be held from April 20 to 22, 2016 at Big Sight Exhibition Centre, Tokyo.

CPhI Japan would be focusing on innovations, interactive and educational programmes to network, learn and gain new insights into the world of pharma.

The expo will have the co- located events - ICSE for contract manufacturing and services; P-MEC| LAB World for pharmaceutical and laboratory machinery, technology and equipment; BioPh for biopharmaceutical development and services and InnoPack for pharmaceutical packaging and drug delivery systems with access to the ultimate one-stop-shop for all Japanese pharma solutions. In addition, the event will also play host to MedTec Japan, the annual event to meet key engineers behind the design and manufacture of Japanese medical devices.

International Contract Services Expo (ICSE) will be host to specific contract manufacturing and services. It will enable international exhibitors who are keen to capitalise on the benefits of doing business in Japan. Other services provided are packaging, clinical trials, laboratory services, drug discovery and marketing services.

The international exhibition on pharmaceutical and medical devices and their accessories (P-MEC) in conjunction with the nternational trade fair for laboratory, analytical and biotechnology equipment (LABWorld ) would be covering pharmaceutical and laboratory machinery, technology and equipment. Japan's APIs and intermediates producers are always on the lookout for new technologies for enhancing quality control, safety assurance and increasing production efficiency. P-MEC / LABWorld Japan would be an ideal platform for profession als to access these facilitates.

Biopharmaceutical (BioPh ) will be host for biopharmaceutical development and services. Japan's premier bio-tech event would be bringing together companies, who are into research and development of new treatment methods arising from biotechnical processes or which are derived from, or use live organisms.

International trade fair for packaging and packaging solutions (InnoPack) which focuses on pharmaceutical packaging and drug delivery systems, will be showcasing the latest advances in drug packaging and delivery technology for the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, veterinary and medical industries.

The show will have nine country pavilions, with eight of them representing countries and one showcasing excipients. The country pavillions include: Uk, Spain, Italy, Korea, China, India and both Japan Pharmaceutical Excipients Council Pavilion and the Japan Pavilion by JBPMA.

The show would bring together over 16,000 pharma professionals for three days of networking, business development and excellence having a host of events that will cover all aspects of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

The organizers are expecting more than 500 exhibitors, up 11 per cent from last year’s event. In addition, they are anticipating over 20,000 attendees , a growth of 25 per cent from last year.Of the expected 500 plus exhibitors, 34 Indian companies are registered to exhibit.

The CPhI Japan conference will provide a wide range of free seminars and paid conferences on trending industry topics providing a valuable insight into the Japanese pharma industry. Over 9,000 pharma professionals have been attending these sessions every year.

The seminars will include various topics on the development and approval review of new drugs in Japan, the creation of innovative drugs and medical devices, successfully launching and commercializing an international product in Japan.

The conference would provide information about the industry, various products, services, new launches, innovations and news during a 30-minute presentation for visitors and exhibitors.

Conference topics will range from regenerative medicine to iPS cell technologies, and KING (Kawasaki Innovation Gateway) SKYFRONT to residual solvents. Over 9,000 pharma professionals attend these sessions every year. This year , all seminar rooms have been located on the exhibition floor ensuring easy entrance from seminars to the exhibition floor and vice versa.

Exhibitor presentations will educate the industry about the various products, services, new launches, innovations and news through 30 minute presentation attended by visitors, press and fellow exhibitors.

The event will also have a customised matchmaking system which will facilitate quality meetings through an online system that would allow the visitors to search and select exhibitors, hand-picked to their specifications, actively seek partnerships, products and services.

After a successful launch in 2015, the 2nd edition of CPhI Women, uniting female executives from the Japan’s pharmaceutical network, will celebrate female leadership and encourage empowerment within the industry.