Merck KGaA Aims To Increase Sales Three Fold In Japan
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
Merck KGaA Chairman Karl-Ludwig Kley said Japan is a strategically important market to the company, speaking at a July 24 Tokyo press briefing. With the market launch of cancer drug Erbitux (cetuximab), the company aims to increase Japanese sales three fold to ¥150 billion in 3-4 years. Merck Serono saw its sales grow 13 percent and profit increase by 14 percent in the interim 2008 report. Kley put emphasis on colon cancer drug Erbitux, which obtained approval in Japan on July 16th to treat progressive and relapsed metastatic colon cancer. Kley estimates as a blockbuster drug candidate, sales for Erbitux could exceed €1 billion. At the briefing Merck Serono Japan President, Wayne Paterson also mentioned the Japanese market as a big opportunity and said the company aims to become a stronger cancer drug maker and fertility drug leader. (Click here for more - Japanese language)