Daiichi Sankyo Forms Ireland Marketing Subsidiary, Continues European Push

TOKYO - Daiichi Sankyo said Nov. 26 that its German subsidiary, Daiichi Sankyo Europe, has formed a sales subsidiary in Dublin, Ireland for marketing its core products by obtaining Merck Serono's cardiometabolic sales force there.

The Ireland operation would concentrate on product distribution and would not be enlarged to embrace production, research and development and other functions, a company spokesman told PharmAsia News Nov. 27.

"In Europe, our German subsidiary will remain our hub and as far as research, our basic policy is to do it in Japan," the spokesman said.

The Ireland subsidiary will accept 14 Merck Serono employees and sell the osteoporosis drug Evista (raloxifen), anti-hypertension treatment Cardicor (bisoprolol) for cardiac insufficiency, b-blocker Emcor (bisoprolol) for hypertension and angina pectoris, as well as diabetes treatment Glucophage (metformin) as part of a co-promotion agreement with Merck Serono, the company said.

The agreement is the third of its kind between the two companies this year. In Germany, Daiichi Sankyo integrated Merck Pharma GmbH's sales force for primary care physicians in August, and in Turkey, Daiichi Sankyo recently acquired Merck's sales force for Merck's cardiometabolic products and the product family Concor to treat hypertension and Glucophage to treat diabetes, the company said (Also see "Daiichi Sankyo To Expand European Presence With Acquisition Of 130 Merck KGaA Medical Reps" - Scrip, 4 Aug, 2008.).

The spokesman declined to comment as to why the two companies made the three deals in succession, saying that the primary decision was made by Merck and not by Daiichi Sankyo.

The spokesman said the Irish subsidiary would enlarge its product line to be offered in Ireland over the coming years but did not elaborate.

Uichiro Kinoshita, Japan representative of Doha Bank, said Japanese companies, including device and drug makers, are seeking to shift their global business weight to Europe, Asia and other regions away from the United States.

"For decades, Japanese companies have been generating half or more of their profits in the United States," Kinoshita said. "But in recent years, they have come to realize that the profit ratio (against revenue) has been slipping and now, bordering on the financial meltdown, that ratio plunged into negative territory. So, they seem to be rethinking and revamping their global business strategy."

He also pointed to the fact that Ireland is keeping its corporate tax rate lower than in other European countries to attract foreign businesses as a probable reason for Daiichi Sankyo's Ireland subsidiary.

Daiichi announced plans last month to expand into Eastern European and African markets by taking advantage of the network of Ranbaxy Laboratories, which it acquired earlier this year (PharmAsia News, Oct. 9, 2008).

- Toshio Aritake ([email protected])