Suntory Limited (President: Nobutada Saji; Head Office: Osaka) and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (President: Kiyoshi Morita; Head Office: Tokyo) are pleased to announce that the two companies have reached a basic agreement to establish a new pharmaceutical company by means of capital tie-up. The new company will be established by transferring all the business of Suntory's Pharmaceutical Division to a separate company by use of the Corporate Split System.
Responding to the recent intensification of global competition in the pharmaceutical industry and changes in the management environment related to the progress of scientific technologies including genomic drug discovery, Suntory expects for the new company to maximize the potential of R&D capabilities, research results, and know-hows which Suntory has developed over the past 22 years. Suntory also believes that the capital tie-up with Daiichi will allow the potential to take a quantum leap forward.
Daichi has been closely collaborating with Suntory for many years under the sales and marketing agreement for the anti-arrythmic agent Sunrythm (Generic Name: pilsicainide hydrochloride), the first pharmaceutical agent developed by Suntrory and approved in Japan in 1991, and the agreement for co-development and for sales and marketing of SUN Y7017 (Generic Name: memantine hydrochloride), an agent for the treatment of dementia of Alzheimer's type, in Japan, announced in March 2002. Daiichi believes that Suntory possesses excellent R&D capabilities and expects large synergistic effects in its pharmaceutical business, especially in R&D.
Suntory will hold 34% of the new company and Daiichi will own 66%, and all the Suntory's current pharmaceutical business will be succeeded to the new company. The new company will start its operations from January 2003 and Mr. George Nakayama, Suntory's Director, Member of the Board and Executive Manager of Pharmaceutical Division will be the president of the new company.
Corporate Profile:
Suntory Limited
| Head Office: |
1-40, Dojimahama 2-chome, Kita-ku, Osaka |
| President: |
Nobutada Saji |
| Date of Establishment: |
December 1, 1921 (founded in 1899) |
| Capital: |
¥30 billion |
| Employees: |
22,800 (as a group and as of December 31, 2001) |
| Net Sales: |
Consolidated turnover ¥1,434.3 billon (year ended December 31, 2001) |
| Primary Business: |
Production and marketing of liquors, foods, etc.; food services, publishing, mail order sales, sports-related business, etc. |
Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
| Head Office: |
14-10, Nihonbashi 3-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo |
| President: |
Kiyoshi Morita |
| Date of Establishment: |
January 1918 (founded in October 1915) |
| Capital: |
¥45.246 billon (as of March 31, 2002) |
| Employees: |
3,758 (as of March 31, 2002) |
| Net Sales: |
Consolidated turnover ¥332.753 billion (year ended March 31, 2002) |
| Primary Business: |
Research and development, import, manufacturer, and sale of pharmaceuticals |
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