Kenzo Sawai, president of Japanese generics giant Sawai Pharmaceutical, talks about the firm’s strategy and backstory of efforts to maintain product supplies amid the country’s ongoing generic crisis in an exclusive interview. He also urges Japan to take "the best and only chance" to reform its drug pricing system to help the entire market survive.

Kenzo Sawai, president of Japanese generics giant Sawai Pharmaceutical, tells Scrip in the first of a two-part exclusive interview about the firm’s strategy and backstory of efforts to maintain product supplies amid the country’s ongoing generic crisis. He also urges Japan to take "the best and only chance" to reform its drug pricing system to help the entire market survive.

Japan struggles to recover its ever-expanding supply chain for generic drugs after several key players had their production stopped because of a series of GMP violations. As the share of generics grows under government policy, some in the industry argue the problems are deeply rooted in a decades-old pricing system.

Mitsubishi Tanabe sold all shares of its Choseido Pharmaceutical subsidiary after not meeting expectations, and must now reassess its generics strategy.