Eli Lilly &Co, a company officially listed as the eighth largest drugmaker by sales based in American, are aiming to release at least fifteen new drugs by 2015. At least ten of these will apparently be in Japa, in particular aimed at the ageing population facing diabetes and cancer.
Lilly is already an established force in Japa, with approximately 800 marketing staff. They aim to double their overall sales in the second-largest economy in the world by 2010, and aim to replicate this feat five years after.
Sidney Taurel, the chief executive officer of Lilly, said: “Our growth will be driven by our products in diabetes care, in the neuroscience area, particularly with a product called Zyprexa for schizophrenia, and also products in the cancer area.”
Japan has an ageing population, with a record 21 per cent of the population reported in 2005. This makes Japan the country with the oldest people in the world. Eli Lilly have been dealing the Japanese market for approximately 20 years. Taurel was also positive on this front: “This is a market where it takes a long time to be established, so we have a lot of growth potential.”

Get our free newsletters

Stay up to date with the latest news, research and breakthroughs.