Dr Reddy's eyes fresh foray into Japanese market

Indian drug-maker and Fujifilm Corporation last June decided to terminate MoU to enter into an exclusive partnership in generic drugs business for Japanese market

After shrugging off its proposed joint venture with Fujifilm which was a non-starter, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Limited is back on the drawing board and is keen to make a fresh foray into the Japanese market.

"We are exploring all options in the sense we have product profile. We have already gone through (with Fujifilm) which did not work. We have to be sure that we don't make those mistakes again. The priority is to get into the right plan to enter into the (Japanese) market," DRL Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, K Satish Reddy told PTI.

The Hyderabad-based company is working overtime to see that its entry next time around into the world's second largest pharma market after the US - still at works - is a success.

The Indian drug-maker and Fujifilm Corporation said last June they decided to terminate the MoU to enter into an exclusive partnership in the generic drugs business for the Japanese market and to establish a joint venture in the island nation in East Asia.

DRL and Fujifilm signed the MoU on July 28, 2011 and the two companies had conducted detailed studies on establishment of a joint venture for developing and manufacturing generic drugs in Japan.

The new company was expected to develop, manufacture and promote competitive and high quality generic drugs, DRL had earlier said.

"Japan has a lot of barriers in terms of what you can do in that market. I see at the top is quality standards. In terms of manufacturing, besides Japan, there is a lot of restrictions in the minds of patients and doctors and in the minds of regulators," Reddy said when asked about entering the Japanese market.